UNIV.  OF  CALIF.  LIBRARY,  LOS  ANGELES 


THE  WHISPERING  TREES  SEEMED  TO  SAY,  "WE 
KNOW,  WE  KNOW" 


PLAYMATE  POLLY 


BY 


AMY  E.  BLANCHARD 

Author  of  "Little  Miss  Oddity,"  ''Little  Miss  Mouse,"  "LiOk 
Sister  Anne,"  "Mistress  May,"  etc. 


THE    PENN     PUBLISHING 
COMPANY  PHILADELPHIA 


Copyright,  1909,  by 
GEORGE  W.  JACOBS  AND  COMPANY 
Published  June, 


All  rights  reserved 
Printed  in  U.  S.  A. 


CONTENTS 

I.  UP  HILL  AND  DOWN  ....  9 

II.  PLAYMATE  POLLY       ....  27 

III.  THE    NEIGHBOR    OF   THE   YELLOW 

HOUSE 43 

IV.  AUNT  BETTY 61 

V.  A  NEW  PET         .                ...  77 

VI.  A  MYSTERY         .  93 

VII.  TAKING  PILLS ill 

VIII.  DAPPLE  GRAY 129 

IX.  THE  GRAY  KITTEN     .       .       .        ,149 

X.  ACROSS  WATER 167 

XL  WHO  TOOK  THE  SPOONS  1    .        .        .185 

XIL  WHAT  WAS  FOUND  OUT  203 


2125592 


CHAPTER  1 
Up  Hill  and  Do<wn 


CHAPTER  I 
Up  Hill  and  Down 

WHEN  Jessie  started  out  in  the  morning  to 
school,  she  began  at  the  gate  to  say  to  herself, 
"Bridge,  Railroad,  Hill,"  and  when  she  started 
home  again  if  she  caine  alone,  it  was  "Hill, 
Railroad,  Bricige."  Home  was  at  one  end  of  the 
journey ;  school  at  the  other ;  Bridge,  Railroad 
and  Hill  were  the  stations  between,  Jessie  told 
herself.  If  she  were  reasonably  early,  she  would 
stop  on  the  bridge  and  peep  over  at  the  running 
water.  At  the  railroad  she  seldom  stopped  ex- 
cept to  say  good-morning  to  Ezra  Limpett  who 
sat  outside  his  little  box  of  a  house  on  sunny 
days,  and  inside  it  on  rainy  ones.  He  always 
held  out  the  red  flag  to  show  the  engineer,  when 
the  trains  went  whizzing  by.  Once,  when  the 
train  was  behind  time,  he  had  allowed  Jessie  to 
hold  the  flattering  flag,  but  that  was  on  her  way 
home,  and  he  had  said  she  must  never  cross  till 
the  train  had  passed.  It  was  on  account  of  Ezra 


12  Playmate  Polly 

that  Jessie  was  allowed  to  go  to  the  Hill  school, 
for  he  never  failed  to  be  at  his  post  watching  for 
her,  and  Jessie's  father  knew  she  would  be  per- 
fectly safe  in  crossing  the  track  because  Ezra 
was  there.  Of  course,  it  was  pleasanter  to  come 
from  school  than  to  go  to  it,  not  only  because 
it  was  down  hill  and  home  was  at  the  far  end  of 
the  way,  but  because  Effie  Hinsdale  could  come 
nearly  as  far  as  the  railroad  with  her,  and  a  com- 
panion always  makes  the  distance  seem  shorter. 
Furthermore,  there  was  time  then  to  loiter,  un- 
less one  felt  very  hungry,  though  loitering  meant 
a  talk  with  Ezra  about  the  engines  and  the  trains. 
The  engines  were  always  spoken  of  as  her  and 
she  and  were  known  by  their  numbers. 

One  day  when  Jessie  was  about  to  skip  across 
the  railroad  ties,  she  heard  Ezra  call  out :  "  Bet- 
ter wait  a  bit.  589  ain't  came  along  yet.  She's 
late  to-day  by  ten  minutes,  and  she's  due  just 
about  now." 

"  Will  you  let  me  hold  the  flag  ?  "  said  Jessie, 
turning  aside. 

Ezra  nodded.  "  Hold  her  good  and  tight,  and 
don't  stand  too  near.  She'll  go  kitin'  to-day  be- 
cause she's  behind  time.  Here,  stand  on  this 
I 


Up  Hill  and  Down  13 

stone  and  I'll  hold  on  to  ye.  That's  her  whistle 
no\\r,  so  up  with  ye." 

Jessie  scrambled  upon  the  stone  and  gripped 
the  flag  tightly,  while  Ezra  took  a  firm  hold  upon 
her.  The  train  was  in  sight  in  a  second,  and 
almost  before  she  could  wink,  it  went  flying  by, 
scattering  the  dust  and  causing  Jessie's  skirts  to 
flutter  in  the  breeze  it  made.  It  was  very  ex- 
citing, though  it  was  something  of  a  relief  to  see 
the  tail  end  of  the  train  disappear  down  the  track. 

"  Wouldn't  like  to  be  in  her  way,  would  ye  ?  " 
said  Ezra,  helping  the  little  girl  down. 

"  Indeed,  I  wouldn't,"  replied  Jessie  decidedly. 
"  Do  you  like  better  to  be  inside  your  funny  little 
house,  Ezra,  or  outside  it  ?  " 

"  That  depends.  Wet  days  I'm  glad  to  be  in  ; 
sorter  cozy  with  a  fire  and  my  pipe  going. 
'Tain't  very  big,  but  it's  fair  enough  shelter,  and 
it  ain't  as  if  I  hadn't  a  roomier  place  to  actually 
live  in.  I  don't  have  it  so  very  bad,  for  there 
ain't  no  night  trains  and  I  can  get  home  and 
have  my  night's  rest.  I'm  always  in  by  nine,  for 
there  ain't  no  trains  after  six.  If  this  was  a  big 
trunk  line  now,  the  trains  would  be  chugging  by 
all  night." 


14  Playmate  Polly 

"  Then  don't  the  conductors  and  engineers  ever 
sleep  ?  '' 

"Some  of  'em  mighty  little.  There's  hard 
tales  about  how  they're  worked.  Folks  all 
well?" 

"  Yes,  thank  you,"  returned  Jessie,  picking  up 
her  books  which  she  had  dropped  on  the  ground, 
and  being  reminded  by  Ezra's  remark  that  she 
must  not  stay  too  long.  "  I  reckon  I'd  better  be 
going  now;  mother  might  be  worrying  about 
me." 

Ezra  nodded.  "That's  right.  Days  gettin' 
kinder  short,  too.  You  won't  get  home  much 
before  sundown,  come  winter." 

"  Won't  I  ?  "  Jessie  had  not  thought  of  this. 
u  I'll  always  have  to  hurry  then." 

"  And  you  won't  find  me  settin'  out  in  the  cold 
so  over  often,"  said  Ezra. 

"  Good-bye,"  said  Jessie. 

Ezra  nodded  and  waved  a  stubby  hand  as  if  to 
a  departing  train,  while  Jessie  ran  across  the 
track  and  took  up  the  last  part  of  her  accustomed 
chant.  Hill  and  Railroad  were  passed,  so  there 
was  only  Bridge  left.  "  Bridge,  Bridge,  Bridge, 
Bridge,"  she  whispered,  keeping  time  to  her 


Up  Hill  and  Down  1 5 

pace,  and  very  soon  Bridge,  too,  was  left  behind 
and  she  was  within  sight  of  the  lane,  the  house, 
the  barn,  and,  last,  her  mother's  anxious  face  at 
the  window. 

"  You're  late,  dear,"  said  Mrs.  Loomis,  as  the 
little  girl  came  into  the  sitting-room. 

"  Yes,"  returned  Jessie.  "  589  was  behind  time 
and  Ezra  wouldn't  let  me  come  till  she  had 
passed.  He  let  me  hold  the  flag.  I  like  the 
train  to  be  late  for  it  is  exciting  to  have  her  go 
by  so  fast  it  almost  takes  your  breath." 

"  I  don't  like  it  to  be  late,"  replied  Mrs.  Loomis, 
"  for  I  always  feel  anxious  about  you  till  you  get 
home.  If  Ezra  were  not  there,  and  if  I  didn't 
know  we  could  absolutely  depend  upon  him  to 
watch  out  for  you,  I  don't  know  what  we  should 
do." 

"  What  do  you  think  you  would  do  ?  "  asked 
Jessie.  "  Would  you  or  father  have  to  come  for 
me  ?  Would  you  have  to  do  that  ?  " 

"No,  we  couldn't  do  that  very  well.  We 
should  have  to  send  for  you,  probably,  or  else 
keep  you  from  school  altogether." 

"  I'd  like  that,"  said  Jessie  in  a  satisfied  tone. 

"  You'd  like  to  grow  up  a  silly  little  dunce  ?  " 


i6  Playmate  Polly 

returned  her  mother,  "  and  not  know  how  to  read 
or  write  ?  Would  you  like  Max  and  Walter  to 
come  home  from  school  and  be  ashamed  of  their 
little  sister  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no,"  Jessie  was  quite  sure  she  would  not. 
"But,"  she  said  after  a  moment's  thought, 
"  everybody  doesn't  have  to  go  to  school.  Cousin 
Lillian  does  not.  I  could  have  a  governess." 

"  That  is  what  you  would  have  to  have,  though 
it  would  be  rather  expensive.  The  boys  have  to 
go  away  to  school  and  it  costs  a  good  deal  for 
them.  But  we'll  not  bother  over  the  question 
while  Ezra  is  on  hand,  for  now  it  is  perfectly  safe 
for  you  to  go  to  the  Hill  school." 

"  Suppose  something  should  happen  to  Ezra," 
said  Jessie,  persistently  following  up  the  subject. 
"  I  should  hate  anything  to  happen  to  him,  but  if 
it  should,  and  another  man  were  to  take  his 
place,  then  would  I  have  to  stop  going  to  school?  " 

"  I'm  sure  I  don't  know,  child.  We  won't  dis- 
cuss it  now.  It  will  be  time  enough  when  such  a 
thing  happens."  And  Mrs.  Loomis  went  out, 
leaving  Jessie  standing  by  the  window. 

Jessie  stood  for  a  few  minutes  looking  out  and 
then  she,  too,  left  the  room.  It  was  time  to  feed 


Up  Hill  and  Down  17 

the  chickens  and  after  that  her  father  would  be 
coming  in.  The  corn  had  been  harvested  and 
stood  stacked  in  the  fields.  Jessie  thought  the 
stacks  looked  very  much  like  Indian  wigwams 
and  she  pictured  to  herself  her  terror  if  they 
really  were  such.  However,  the  terror  was  not 
very  keen  and  was  soon  forgotten  when  she 
reached  the  spot  where  the  fowls  were  jostling 
one  another  and  pecking  eagerly  at  the  corn  Mi- 
nerva was  scattering  on  the  ground.  Minerva 
was  the  servant  who  had  lived  in  the  family  ever 
since  she  was  a  little  girl.  She  was  very  fond  of 
Jessie  and  the  two  often  had  long  talks  about  the 
chickens,  the  pigeons,  the  ducks  and  the  turkeys. 

"  There's  two  young  turkejrs  missing,"  said 
Minerva  as  Jessie  appeared.  "  After  I  get 
through  here  you  can  go  'long  with  me  if  you 
like  and  look  'em  up.  You're  a  right  good  hand 
for  spying  'em  out  and  they  do  beat  everything 
for  wandering." 

"  I  believe  I  know  where  they  are,"  Jessie  toid 
her.  "  I  shouldn't  wonder  if  they  were  over  there 
where  the  mountain  cherries  grow.  I've  seen 
them  there  lots  of  times." 

"  Then  that's  where  we'll  look  for  'em,"  said 


j8  Playmate  Polly 

Minerva,  scattering  another  handful  of  corn. 
"  They're  big  enough  now  not  to  care  much  about 
being  with  the  old  ones,  and  I  have  to  keep  an 
eye  on  'em." 

"  Have  you  fed  the  young  chickens  yet  ? " 
asked  Jessie.  "  How  fast  they  do  eat,  Minerva. 
Look  at  that  great  piggy  rooster  driving  away 
that  smaller  one.  I  never  did  like  that  old  yel- 
low fellow,  anyhow." 

"  He  is  kind  of  greedy,"  agreed  Minerva.  "  No, 
I  haven't  fed  the  young  chickens.  You  can  mix 
the  meal  if  you  like.  Don't  make  it  too  wet  like 
you  did  last  time.  Mrs.  Speckle  is  a  little  droopy  ; 
she  don't  take  her  food  well  at  all.  She's  such  a 
good  layer,  I  hope  there's  nothing  wrong  with 
her." 

Jessie  moved  away  to  get  the  meal.  Two 
measures  of  it  she  carefully  piled  up  in  the 
tin  box  which  she  found  in  the  bin.  This  she 
emptied  into  a  pan  and  then  she  poured  in  a  little 
water  at  a  time,  stirring  it  with  a  spoon  at  first, 
and  then  with  her  whole  hand.  She  liked  the 
operation,  and  was  so  interested  in  squeezing 
the  wet  meal  that  Minerva  finally  had  to  call 
her. 


Up  Ml  and  Down  i9 

"If  you're  going  to  help  me  hunt  those 
turkeys,  you'd  better  hurry  with  that  meal,"  she 
said. 

Jessie  carried  the  tin  pan  to  the  enclosure 
where  the  young  chickens  were  making  a  great 
fuss,  poking  their  heads  between  the  slats  and 
peeping  anxiously.  But  their  peeping  soon 
stopped  as  Jessie  scattered  little  dabs  of  the  food 
on  the  ground.  "  Don't  gather  the  eggs  till  I 
come,"  she  called  to  Minerva  whom  she  saw 
searching  the  nests. 

"  Obliged  to,"  returned  Minerva,  "  or  there'll 
be  no  time  to  look  up  the  turkeys.  It  gets  dark 
so  much  sooner  these  days,  you  know." 

"With  one  swoop  of  the  wooden  spoon  Jessie 
swept  the  rest  of  the  meal  into  a  pile  on  the 
ground,  set  down  the  pan  and  joined  Minerva. 
"  How  many  are  there  to-day  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  Ten,  so  far." 

Jessie  climbed  upon  a  box  and  peered  into  a 
corner.  "There  are  two  more  here,"  she  said. 
"Shall  I  take  them?" 

"If  you're  careful  not  to  break  them,"  Mi- 
nerva told  her. 

Jessie  gently  lifted  one  egg  at  a  time  and  put 


20  Playmate  Polly 

it  in  the  basket  Minerva  carried.  "  That  makes 
a  dozen,"  she  said. 

"  And  here's  another  in  this  nest,"  Minerva 
went  on.  "  Old  Posy  is  laying  again,  I  expect." 

This  was  the  last  egg  found,  and  the  two  left 
the  hen-house.  Minerva  carried  the  basket  into 
the  house  and  then  she  and  Jessie  started  off  to- 
ward a  corner  near  the  garden  where  the  moun- 
tain cherries  grew,  and  where  many  other  wild 
things  made  a  close  thicket,  so  that  it  was  hard 
to  penetrate  the  middle  of  the  place.  But  Jessie 
had  been  there  many  a  time.  It  was  one  of  her 
favorite  spots  in  summer.  So  now  she  pressed 
her  body  through  the  tangle  of  blackberry  vines, 
pokeweed,  sumach  and  laurel  bushes  to  a  less 
crowded  part  of  the  thicket.  There  was  a  dog- 
wood tree  here,  and  upon  its  lower  branches  sat 
the  two  turkeys  entirely  satisfied  with  the  roost 
they  had  selected  for  the  night. 

"  Here  they  are,"  sang  out  Jessie. 

Minerva  followed  the  little  girl.  "  Well,  I  de- 
clare ! "  she  exclaimed.  "  It  takes  you  to  find 
'em.  I  believe  you  know  every  foot  of  this 
place."  She  grabbed  first  one  turkey,  then  an- 
other. They  set  up  protesting  cries  which  were 


Up  Hill  and  Down  21 

of  no  use  whatever,  for  Minerva  held  them  firmly 
and  carried  them  home  triumphantly  under  each 
arm.  "  It's  too  cold  for  you  to  be  out,"  she  said, 
addressing  the  turkeys.  "  I  should  think  you'd 
have  better  sense.  I  shouldn't  wonder  if  we 
were  to  have  frost  to-night,  and  then  where 
would  your  toes  be  ?  " 

"Why,  they'd  be  under  them  all  covered  up 
with  feathers,"  put  in  Jessie. 

Minerva  laughed.  "  You  know  more  about  it 
than  I  do,  it  seems.  "Well,  anyhow,  they'd  bet- 
ter be  in  where  it's  safe  and  warm.  Young 
turkeys  are  delicate.  Besides,  some  crittur  might 
catch  them." 

This  was  not  to  be  denied  as  Jessie  informed 
the  turkeys.  "You're  much  safer  in  the  hen- 
house, you  two  silly  things,"  she  said,  "  so  you 
ought  to  be  much  obliged  to  us  for  getting  you. 
I'm  sure  I  shouldn't  want  to  stay  out  in  the  cold 
and  dark  all  night  and  have  wild  beasts  get  after 
me.  Minerva,  that  yellow  house  just  this  side 
the  bridge  must  be  taken,  for  there  are  people 
living  in  it.  I  saw  a  cat  sitting  on  the  porch  and 
there  was  a  little  rocking-chair  in  the  garden. 
Do  you  suppose  it  belonged  to  a  little  girl  ?  " 


22 

"  It  might.  I  should  say  it  was  very  likely  to. 
Little  boys  don't  usually  care  for  rocking-chairs." 

"  I  hope  it  is  a  nice  little  girl  and  that  I  shall 
get  acquainted  with  her,"  returned  Jessie.  "  Ef- 
fie  Hinsdale  is  nay  nearest  girl  friend  and  neigh- 
bor and  she  lives  across  the  railroad  track. 
Mother  says  twice  a  day  is  as  often  as  she  likes 
to  think  of  my  crossing  the  track,  but  when 
Ezra  is  there  I  shouldn't  think  she'd  mind." 

"I  should  think  she  would  mind,"  said  Mi- 
nerva. "  Don't  you  see  enough  of  the  girls  at 
school  ?  " 

"  Ye-es,"  said  Jessie  doubtfully,  "  I  suppose  I 
do,  but  it's  only  at  recess,  you  know,  for  I  al- 
ways hurry  home.  I  was  late  to-day  because 
589  was  behind  time." 

"  That's  the  four  o'clock,  isn't  it  ?  " 

"  Yes,  but  Ezra  always  calls  her  589." 

"  And  that's  why  you  do.  I  suppose  that's  a 
fairly  good  reason.  There's  your  father  and 
Sam  coming  up  the  lane.  I'll  put  up  the  turkeys 
and  you  can  open  the  gate  for  them." 

Jessie  ran  down  the  long  avenue  of  trees 
which  led  up  to  the  house,  opened  the  gate  and 
stood  there  while  her  father  drove  in. 


Up  Hill  and  Down  23 

"  Climb  up,  Puss,"  he  said,  "  and  I'll  take  you 
around  to  the  barn.  Been  a  good  girl  to-day  ? 
Missed  any  lessons  ?  " 

"I  didn't  know  how  to  spell  'conscientious,'" 
Jessie  told  him,  "  and  two  examples  weren't  quite 
right." 

"That's  not  so  bad.  A  good  many  people 
don't  know  how  to  spell  '  conscientious/ "  said 
her  father  with  a  little  laugh.  "  Any  demerits  ?  " 

"  One,"  said  Jessie  a  little  shamefacedly  and 
quickly  changing  the  subject.  "  I  held  the  flag 
for  589,"  she  said.  "  Ezra  let  me." 

"  The  train  was  late,  I  know,"  said  Mr.  Loomis. 
"  I  heard  the  whistle  and  hoped  you  were  safe 
across." 

"  I  wasn't.  Ezra  wouldn't  let  me  go,  though 
there  was  plenty  of  time.  He  said  suppose  I 
should  fall." 

Her  father  nodded.  "He's  right.  Nice  old 
chap,  Ezra  is.  Well,  here  we  are.  Kun  in  and 
tell  Minerva  that  Sam  has  a  basket  of  peaches 
in  the  wagon.  They're  the  last  we'll  get  this 
year." 

"  Where  did  you  get  them,  father  ?  " 

"  From  that  tree  over  in  the  south  field ;  it's 


24  Playmate  Polly 

a  late  variety,  but  they  will  be  pretty  good  for 
preserves." 

"  I'm  going  to  have  one  before  that  happens," 
said  Jessie,  running  into  the  kitchen  and  meet- 
ing Sam  just  as  he  was  bringing  in  the  peaches. 

"  Work  for  you  to-morrow,  Minervy,"  he  said 
as  he  set  down  the  basket. 

"That's  so,"  returned  Minerva.  "Well,  I 
don't  mind.  Them  white  peaches  makes  fine 
preserves  and  we  haven't  any  too  many  peaches 
put  up  this  year.  Hungry,  Sam  ?  " 

"  You  bet,"  he  replied.  "  Always  am.  Seems 
to  me  I  don't  more'n  get  one  meal  down  than 
I'm  ready  for  another." 

"It  ain't  quite  as  bad  as  that,"  returned 
Minerva.  "  I'll  have  your  supper  ready  in  the 
shake  of  a  sheep's  tail.  By  the  time  you've  done 
milking,  anyway." 

Sam  went  out  with  the  milk-buckets  and 
Jessie  returned  to  the  sitting-room.  Her  father 
was  at  his  desk,  setting  down  some  accounts; 
her  mother  was  watering  the  plants  which  had 
lately  been  brought  in  and  put  in  the  south 
windows.  Jessie  stood  looking  out  into  the 
gathering  twilight.  Everything  showed  forth 


Up  Hill  and  Down  25 

duskily.  Many  of  the  trees  were  shedding  their 
leaves.  Down  by  the  brook  a  row  of  willows 
looked  fantastically  like  people  with  big  heads 
and  wild  hair,  Jessie  thought.  There  was 
one  quite  small,  which  seemed  very  human. 
Jessie  regarded  it  interestedly  for  some  time  be- 
fore she  turned  and  said,  "  Mother,  what  is  the 
little  tree  down  by  the  brook  ?  the  one  with  a 
funny  head.  What's  its  name  ?  " 

"  Pollard  "Willow,"  replied  her  mother,  glan- 
cing out  of  the  window  toward  the  place  Jessie 
pointed  out. 

"Polly  Willow,"  whispered  Jessie  to  herself. 
"  Polly  Willow !  What  a  funny  name." 


CHAPTER  II 
Polly 


CHAPTER  II 

Playmate  Polly 

IT  was  some  time  after  this  that  Jessie  made 
the  acquaintance  of  Polly  Willow  and  it  came 
about  in  a  way  that  Jessie  had  not  expected.  It 
was  due  in  the  beginning  to  589  which  seemed 
of  late  to  be  getting  into  a  habit  of  tardiness. 
One  morning  when  Jessie  was  going  to  school 
she  missed  her  good  friend  Ezra  at  the  door  of 
his  little  house.  A  stranger  was  there,  a  gruff 
sort  of  somebody  who  cried  out  sharply :  "  Get 
over  there  quick,  siss}'.  You  ain't  no  business 
crossing  tracks  when  trains  is  coming." 

"There  isn't  any  train  coming,"  said  Jessie. 
"  I  know  all  about  the  trains.  There  isn't  any 
after  the  803  when  411  comes  along.  The  next 
train  is  at  twelve  and  the  one  after  at  four." 

"  Much  you  know,"  replied  the  man.  "  I  sup- 
pose the  president  of  the  road  has  sent  you  a 
special  message  saying  he's  just  changed  the  fall 


30  Playmate  Polly 

schedule.  I  had  my  information  from  Ezra,  but 
I  reckon  he  don't  know.  He  told  me  to  look  out 
for  a  train  at  8  : 35." 

"  There  wasn't  any  such  train  on  Friday,"  said 
Jessie. 

"  Fall  schedule  hadn't  come  into  effect.  Time 
changes  to-day." 

"  Where  is  Ezra  ?  "  asked  Jessie,  still  unbeliev- 
ing, but  by  this  time  safely  across  the  track. 

"  Took  down  with  rheurnatiz.  Been  bothering 
him  on  and  off  for  some  time.  Now  he's  laid  up 
in  bed." 

"  Dear  me,  but  I  am  sorry,"  said  Jessie. 

"  That  don't  cure  his  aches  and  pains,"  re- 
turned the  man.  "  You'd  better  hustle  along, 
sis.  I've  got  to  signal  to  this  here  train  and  I 
can't  stand  here  all  day  talking  to  you." 

Jessie  turned  away  indignantly.  Ezra  would 
have  asked  if  she  didn't  want  to  hold  the  flag 
when  the  train  went  by,  and  he  would  not  have 
told  her  in  that  rude  way  to  "  go  along."  She 
did  not  like  this  man  at  all.  She  wondered  if 
Ezra  would  be  ill  all  winter,  and  then  suddenly 
she  thought  of  what  her  mother  had  said  ;  that 
if  anything  happened  to  Ezra,  her  parents  would 


Playmate  Polly  31 

not  feel  that  they  could  allow  Jessie  to  take  the 
walk  to  the  Hill  School. 

However,  Ezra  and  the  trains  were  forgotten 
when  the  little  girl  reached  school,  for  there 
were  several  interesting  things  to  take  up  her 
thoughts  that  morning.  In  the  first  place,  there 
was  a  new  scholar  named  Anna  Sharp.  She  had 
come  to  live  with  her  aunt  in  the  neighborhood 
and  was  going  to  attend  the  Hill  School.  Next 
Effie  Hinsdale  whispered  that  there  were  four 
dear  new  kittens  in  the  barn  and  that  Jessie 
could  have  one  if  she  liked.  Effie  had  been 
given  a  demerit  for  whispering,  and  that  had  so 
disturbed  Jessie  that  she  missed  her  geography 
lesson  and  had  to  recite  it  after  school,  so  alto- 
gether there  was  quite  enough  to  put  Ezra  out  of 
her  mind. 

She  remembered  him  before  she  reached  the 
railroad,  and  then  she  determined  that  she  would 
not  pay  the  least  attention  to  the  flagman  who 
was  taking  Ezra's  place,  but  that  she  would  run 
across  the  tracks  without  turning  her  head.  She 
had  not  resisted  the  temptation  to  stop  at  Effie's 
long  enough  to  see  the  new  kittens,  and  had 
chosen  the  gray  one,  so  that  it  was  later  than 


32  Playmate  Polly 

usual  when  she  reached  the  railroad.  Of  course 
589  must  have  gone  by,  for  it  was  the  express 
and  was  due  at  four  o'clock.  There  could  not 
be  the  least  danger,  thought  Jessie.  She  saw 
that  the  flagman  had  his  back  to  her  and  was 
standing  looking  up  the  track.  She  made  haste 
to  cross  before  he  could  see  her,  and,  in  her 
hurry,  she  tripped  over  the  rail  and  her  books 
were  scattered  in  every  direction.  She  picked 
herself  up  and  was  about  to  gather  her  books 
together  when  she  heard  the  shrill  whistle  of  an 
approaching  train,  while  from  up  the  track  she 
saw  the  express  rapidly  advancing  upon  her. 
For  a  second  she  stood,  numb  with  fright,  and 
then  she  leaped  across  the  rails,  her  heart  beat- 
ing fast.  Another  moment  and  the  train  went 
flying  by.  She  was  safe  if  her  books  were  not. 
She  saw  her  geography  go  careering  down  the 
road,  her  arithmetic  lying  some  distance  away, 
and  her  reader  nowhere  to  be  seen.  But  books 
were  of  no  account  just  then.  The  child's  whole 
thought  was  to  get  home  as  quickly  as  possible. 
Without  looking  back  once  she  sped  along  as 
fast  as  she  could  run,  tears  coursing  down  her 
cheeks  and  herself  so  shaken  that  when  she 


Playmate  Polly  33 

reached  home  she  burst  into  the  sitting-room  and 
flung  herself,  sobbing,  into  her  mother's  arms. 

"  Why,  m  j  darling,  what  is  the  matter  ?  " 
asked  Mrs.  Loomis  anxiously. 

"  589  was  late  and  Ezra  has  the  rheumatism 
and  they  have  changed  the  time  and  I  tripped 
on  a  rail  and  lost  my  books.  There  was  a  horrid 
man  there,  too,  and  he  called  me  '  sis.' " 

In  this  rather  mixed-up  speech  her  mother 
recognized  that  something  alarming  had  really 
happened.  "  Never  mind,  dearie,"  she  said  sooth- 
ingly. "  "Wait  till  you  can  stop  crying  and  then 
tell  me  all  about  it.  Mother  has  you  safe  any- 
how, hasn't  she  ?  "  She  cuddled  the  little  girl 
closely  in  her  lap  and  in  a  few  minutes  Jessie 
was  able  to  give  a  better  account  of  what  had 
occurred. 

Mrs.  Loomis  looked  very  grave  as  she  shook 
her  head.  "  Thank  heaven,"  she  said,  "  that  you 
were  not  so  bewildered  as  to  stand  still.  We 
didn't  know  the  winter  schedule  was  in  effect. 
Ezra  would  have  sent  us  word  if  he  had  not  been 
ill.  Oh,  my  child ! "  She  hugged  Jessie  sud- 
denly to  her  and  after  a  moment  continued,  "  It 
is  clear  to  me  that  it  is  not  safe  for  you  to  go  to 


34  Playmate  Polly 

school  by  yourself.  I  will  see  if  we  can  arrange 
to  have  Sam  take  you,  and  I  might  be  able  to 
spare  Minerva  to  bring  you  home.  You  could 
go  as  far  as  the  Hinsdales  and  wait  there  for 
her.  I  should  never  have  an  easy  moment  if 
you  were  to  go  over  that  road  alone.  Try  to 
forget  this  afternoon's  fright,  dear  child,  and  go 
talk  to  Minerva.  I  see  your  father  coming." 

Jessie  went  to  Minerva  and  helped  her  feed 
the  chickens,  almost  forgetting  in  this  task,  that 
she  had  been  so  frightened.  But  after  supper 
her  father  took  her  on  his  knee  and  questioned 
her  about  the  matter. 

"No  more  school  for  you  yet  a  while,  miss," 
he  said.  "  I  can't  spare  Sam  just  now  for  I  am  a 
man  short,  and  it  won't  hurt  you  to  stay  at  home 
for  a  week  while  we  plan  what  is  to  be  done 
next.  I  pinned  my  faith  on  Ezra,  but  now  that 
he  is  out  of  the  question  we  shall  have  to  think 
of  some  other  way  of  doing." 

So  the  next  day  Jessie  stayed  home  from 
school,  and  not  only  the  next,  but  for  several 
days  she  was  free  to  wander  about  the  place  and 
do  pretty  much  as  she  pleased.  "She's  had  a 
bad  fright,"  said  Mr.  Loomis  to  his  wife,  "  and 


Playmate  Potty  35 

she  is  a  nervous,  imaginative  little  thing,  so  she'd 
better  stay  out-of-doors  all  she  can  till  she  gets 
over  this.  I  don't  think  we  need  let  her  bother 
with  lessons  for  a  while  yet." 

The  first  day  Jessie  amused  herself  near  the 
house;  the  next  she  wandered  as  far  as  the 
mountain  cherry-tree  ;  the  third  found  her  down 
by  the  brook,  and  there  she  saw  Polly  Willow 
waiting  for  her. 

"  I've  just  got  to  have  somebody  to  play  with," 
said  Jessie,  looking  at  Polly  "Willow's  funny  head. 
"I  think  maybe  you'll  do  for  a  playmate,  Polly. 
There's  one  thing  about  it ;  you  can't  run  away 
and  you'll  always  be  here  when  I  want  you.  Of 
course  you  are  pretty  big,  but  so  are  the  other 
people  in  your  family.  You  are  much  the  small- 
est of  any  of  them,  so  I  don't  suppose  you  are 
any  older  than  I.  I  think  the  first  thing  I  do 
must  be  to  get  you  a  hat.  I  know  where  there  is 
one  I  think  I  can  have." 

She  ran  back  to  the  house  and  up  to  the  attic 
where  she  found  an  old  straw  hat.  On  her  way 
down  she  stopped  at  the  door  of  her  mother's 
room  to  poke  in  her  head  and  say :  "  May  I 
have  this,  mother  ?  '" 


36  Playmate  Potty 

"What  is  it?" 

"  An  old  hat.     I  want  to  play  with  it." 

Her  mother  glanced  at  the  hat.  "  Yes,  you 
may  have  it.  Where  are  you  playing  ?  " 

"  Down  by  the  brook." 

"Don't  get  your  feet  wet.  So  long  as  you 
have  your  rubbers  on  and  are  in  the  open  air,  I 
am  satisfied." 

With  the  hat  in  hand  Jessie  ran  back  to  the 
brook.  The  fallen  leaves  already  dappled  its 
surface  with  red  and  yellow,  but  goldenrod  and 
asters  made  a  gay  fringe  along  the  sides.  Sit- 
ting down  on  a  fallen  log  she  proceeded  to  trim 
the  hat  with  flowers.  A  plume  of  goldenrod 
decorated  one  side  ;  a  bunch  of  asters  the  other, 
and  when  it  was  finished,  Jessie  stood  on  tiptoe 
and  stuck  the  hat  on  Polly's  big  head.  "  It's 
rather  small  for  you,"  she  said  as  she  gravely 
regarded  the  effect,  "  but  it  makes  you  look  more 
like  a  little  girl.  Now,  Polly,  we'll  plaj ,  I'm 
going  to  live  over  there."  She  waved  her  hand 
in  the  direction  of  a  large  rock  a  short  distance 
away.  "  I  see  Mrs.  Mooky  is  coming  to  see  me, 
so  I  shall  have  to  go,  but  I'll  come  over  again 
after  a  while.  Good-bye,  Polly." 


Playmate  Polly  37 

A  pretty  fawn-colored  cow  was  grazing  near 
the  big  rock.  This  was  the  person  Jessie  called 
Mrs.  Mooky.  The  little  girl  was  not  in  the  least 
afraid  of  cows,  of  this  one  in  particular,  for  she 
had  been  accustomed  to  seeing  Mrs.  Mooky  ever 
since  she  was  a  little  calf  which  had  fed  from 
her  hand.  So  now  she  approached  her  boldly, 
saying,  "  Good-morning,  Mrs.  Mooky.  I'm  very 
glad  to  see  you.  I  am  sorry  I  was  not  at  home 
when  you  called  just  now,  but  I  had  to  run  over  to 
Polly's.  She  has  a  new  hat  that  she  wanted  me 
to  see." 

The  cow  lifted  her  head  and  gave  a  gentle 
"  moo." 

"  I  understand,"  Jessie  went  on.  "  You'll 
come  again  some  other  day.  Very  well.  Good- 
bye." And  the  cow  moved  on.  "  I'm  going  to 
ask  mother  if  I  can't  have  a  tea-party  here  with 
Playmate  Polly.  No,  I  won't  say  with  Playmate 
Polly;  she  might  laugh.  A  grown  person  couldn't 
exactly  understand  how  nice  it  is  to  have  a  Play- 
mate Polly  for  a  friend.  I'll  bring  one  of  the 
dolls,  and — oh,  dear,  I  wish  the  gray  kitten 
were  big  enough.  Mother  says  I  can't  have  it 
till  it  is  quite  able  to  do  without  its  mother, 


38  Playmate  Polly 

so  I'll  have  to  wait,  and  I  shall  have  to  get 
Charity." 

Again  she  went  back  to  the  house,  this  time 
to  get  the  doll  which  had  been  bought  at  a 
bazaar  in  the  city  by  Jessie's  aunt  who  had  sug- 
gested the  old-fashioned  name  of  Charity  for  her, 
since  it  was  a  charity  bazaar  at  which  she  had 
been  bought,  and  because  the  doll  was  dressed 
in  a  very  old-fashioned  costume  to  represent  a 
Colonial  Dame.  She  had  now  a  long  cloak  to 
cover  her  brocade  frock,  a  cloak  that  Jessie  had 
made  from  a  piece  of  gray  flannel,  and  in  conse- 
quence of  her  having  this  warm  garment,  Jessie 
thought  her  better  prepared  for  outdoor  play 
than  the  other  dolls. 

"  May  I  have  something  for  a  party  ?  I'm 
taking  Charity  with  me  down  to  the  brook," 
she  said  to  her  mother  whom  she  found  in  the 
kitchen. 

"  "Why,  yes,"  said  her  mother,  "  what  do  you 
want  ?  " 

"  What  is  it  that  smells  so  good  ?  " 

"  Peach  marmalade,  I  suspect.  We're  making 
some." 

"  I'd  like  some  of  that  on  some  bread." 


Playmate  Polly  39 

"  It's  hot,"  said  Minerva,  "  and  it  isn't  done 
yet,  but  I  reckon  it  will  taste  good  and  it  will 
soon  cool  off  in  the  open  air.  What  will  you 
have  it  in  ?  Oh,  I  know  ;  one  of  those  little  jars 
the  beef  extract  conies  in.  There  are  some  in 
the  pantry  on  the  shelf  behind  the  door." 

Jessie  set  Charity  on  one  of  the  kitchen  chairs, 
and  went  to  the  pantry  for  the  little  jar  which 
Minerva  filled  with  marmalade.  She  then  cut  a 
couple  slices  of  bread,  buttered  them  and  put 
them  wrapped  in  a  napkin,  into  a  small  egg 
basket,  adding  the  jar  of  preserves  and  an  apple. 
"  Be  careful  how  you  carry  it,"  she  warned  Jessie. 
"  You  don't  want  to  smear  that  sticky  stuff  all 
over  the  basket,  and  be  sure  to  bring  it  and  the 
jar  back  when  you  come.  Now,  don't  forget." 

"I'll  remember,"  said  Jessie.  "Thank  you, 
Minerva.  I  shall  have  a  lovely  time." 

"  Here,  come  back,"  cried  Minerva,  as  Jessie 
went  out.  "  I  didn't  put  in  any  spoon.  Would 
you  rather  have  a  spoon  or  a  knife  ?  " 

"  A  spoon,  I  think,"  said  Jessie,  "  for  then  if  I 
want  to  eat  any  preserves  I  can  do  it  easier,  and 
a  spoon  will  do  to  spread  with,  too." 

"  One  of  the  kitchen  spoons,  Minerva,"  said 


40  Playmate  Polly 

Mrs.  Loomis.  "  We  don't  want  the  silver  lost  at 
the  bottom  of  the  brook." 

Jessie  was  quite  satisfied  with  a  kitchen  spoon 
and  went  happily  on  her  way,  holding  the  little 
basket  and  her  doll,  carefully.  "  We're  going 
over  to  Playmate  Polly's,  Charity,"  she  informed 
her  doll.  "  You  don't  know  her,  but  she  is  a  very 
nice  little  girl,  just  the  kind  I  like.  She  knows 
all  about  the  flowers  and  birds  and  such  things, 
for  she  lives  right  down  by  the  brook  where  they 
live.  She  told  me  this  morning  that  she  is  very 
intimate  with  the  birds  especially,  and  now  that 
they  are  going  south  for  the  winter  she  would  be 
very  lonely  if  I  didn't  play  with  her.  I  think 
she  will  be  glad  to  see  you,  too,  for  I  am  sure  she 
doesn't  have  much  company  these  days.  Mrs. 
Mooky  comes  pretty  often,  but  then  she  is  not  a 
little  girl  like  me,  and  that  makes  a  great  differ- 
ence." 

Talking  thus  to  her  doll,  she  went  on  her  way 
and  soon  reached  the  brook.  The  marmalade 
was  still  warm,  but  when  it  was  spread  on  the 
bread  which  Jessie  laid  out  on  the  red  doily,  it 
soon  cooled,  and  if  Jessie  was  obliged  to  eat  both 
Polly's  and  Charity's  share  b}^  proxy,  she  did  not 


Playmate  Polly  41 

have  to  eat  for  the  birds,  who  were  glad  of  the 
crumbs,  and  who,  when  the  last  speck  had  van- 
ished, came  near  enough  to  look  inquiringly  with 
their  bright  eyes  as  if  to  ask,  Is  that  all  ? 

"  Now,  Polly,"  said  Jessie,  "  I'm  going  to  ask 
you  to  take  care  of  Charity  for  me  a  little  while. 
She  isn't  very  well  this  morning,  and  I  want  to 
see  the  doctor  about  her.  You  know  Dr.  Bramble, 
of  course." 

Polly,  answering  in  Jessie's  voice,  said  she 
knew  Dr.  Bramble  very  well  indeed,  that  he  was 
a  sharp  sort  of  person,  and  often  very  disagree- 
able, but  that  he  was  a  good  doctor  and  his 
cordial  fine  stuff. 

So,  leaving  Charity  in  Polly's  care,  Jessie  went 
to  hunt  up  Dr.  Bramble.  She  was  obliged  to 
stay  quite  a  while  for  when  she  reached  his  house 
she  found  that  Mrs.  Bramble  had  a  few  belated 
blackberries  for  her,  and  they  were  so  tempting 
that  Jessie  was  obliged  to  gather  them  all. 
"  They'll  do  finely  for  pills  for  Charity,"  she  said, 
"  or  maybe  I'd  better  make  medicine  of  them ;  I 
can  mash  them  in  the  jar  with  the  spoon  and  give 
her  a  teaspoonful  at  a  time ! " 

The  berries  were  rather  hard  and  could  not  be 


42  Playmate  Polly 

easily  crushed,  but  finally  Jessie  accomplished  the 
work  and  Charity  was  given  her  first  dose, 
though  she  cried  a  good  deal  over  it  and  insisted 
that  she  could  not  take  it.  "  But  you  must,  my 
dear,"  said  Jessie  firmly,  "  or  you  will  not  get 
well.  Do  you  want  to  be  ill  and  not  have  any 
more  of  the  nice  marmalade  Minerva  is  making  ?  " 
Charity  deciding  that  she  preferred  marmalade 
to  illness,  at  last  took  the  medicine  by  means  of 
Jessie's  mouth,  and  was  then  put  to  bed  and 
covered  up  with  leaves.  Then  Jessie  amused  her- 
self a  long  while  with  Playmate  Polly.  They 
talked  about  many  things ;  the  birds,  the  fishes, 
the  flowers,  the  gray  kitten  and  of  Charity's  ill- 
ness, and  the  time  went  so  pleasantly  that  when 
the  dinner  horn  sounded  Jessie  had  no  idea  that 
it  was  so  late.  She  had  enjoyed  her  morning 
hugely,  and  had  come  to  have  a  great  affection 
for  her  new  friend,  Playmate  Polly. 


CHAPTER  III 
The  Neighbor  of  the  Yellow  House 


CHAPTER  III 
The  Neighbor  of  the  Yellow  House 

EVERY  morning  after  this  Jessie  went  down 
to  the  brook  to  play  with  Playmate  Polly. 
Charity  soon  recovered  from  her  illness,  Dr. 
Bramble's  medicine  being  the  very  thing  for  her, 
and  she  was  able  to  enjoy  her  share  of  the  scrap- 
ings of  marmalade  which  Jessie  ate  for  her  from 
the  big  preserving-kettle.  Mrs.  Mooky  called 
frequently,  and  so  did  other  persons.  Jessie 
made  the  acquaintance  of  a  lively  cricket  which 
lived  under  the  big  stone  that  she  was  accustomed 
to  call  her  house,  and  she  also  had  several  con- 
versations with  a  fat  toad  which  would  come  out 
and  blink  at  her  on  mild  days.  Still  it  was  Play- 
mate Polly  whom  Jessie  liked  the  best.  She 
kept  the  knowledge  of  this  queer  friend  a  secret 
from  everybody,  and  for  that  very  reason  prob- 
ably enjoyed  her  the  more. 

One  afternoon,  however,  when  she  and  Polly 


46  Playmate  Polly 

had  been  having  a  particularly  interesting  talk, 
Jessie  heard  a  laugh  from  the  other  side  of  the 
brook,  and  looking  up  quickly  she  saw  a  little 
girl  with  very  black  hair  and  eyes,  astride  a  fallen 
log.  "  Hello ! "  said  the  little  girl. 

Jessie  looked  at  her  interestedly.  "  Hello  ! " 
she  responded.  She  had  never  seen  the  little  girl 
before ; — not  at  church,  nor  on  the  road,  nor  any- 
where, and  she  wondered  who  she  could  be. 
"  Who  are  you  ?  "  she  asked  presently,  "  and  how 
did  you  get  over  there  ?  " 

"  I'm  Adele  Pauline  Falaise  Hallett,"  was  the 
reply,  "  and  I  got  here  by  walking." 

"  Goodness !  what  a  long  name,"  said  Jessie. 
"  Do  you  live  near  here  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  live  in  the  yellow  house  this  side  the 
bridge." 

"  Oh,  I  know  now,"  returned  Jessie  ;  "  you're 
the  new  people.  Did  you  come  through  the 
woods  or  by  the  road  ?  " 

"  Through  the  woods.     What's  your  name  ?  " 

"  Jessie  Loomis." 

"  Who  was  it  that  you've  been  talking  to  all 
this  time  ?  I  looked  and  listened  for  ever  so  long 
and  I  couldn't  see  anybody." 


The  Neighbor  of  the  Yellow  House    47 

"  I  was  talking  to  my  doll,  Charity,  part  of  the 
time,"  said  Jessie,  after  a  little  hesitation.  She 
did  not  want  to  tell  her  secrets  to  a  stranger. 

"  Who  is  Polly  Somebody  ?  You  kept  saying 
Polly  this  and  Polly  that.  Have  you  a  parrot 
over  there  ?  " 

"  Dear  me,  no,"  returned  Jessie.  "  I  was  talk- 
ing to  a  make-believe  friend  of  mine." 

"What  kind  of  friend?  Can't  you  see  her 
truly  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  can  see  her.  She's  this  tree."  Jessie 
laid  her  hand  affectionately  on  Playmate  Polly's 
rough  bark. 

Adele  laughed.  "  That's  a  mighty  funny  sort 
of  friend.  I'm  coming  over  to  you.  Where  can 
I  get  across  ?  " 

"  There's  a  log  higher  up,"  Jessie  told  her.  "  I 
cross  that  way  sometimes,  and  in  summer  when 
the  brook  is  very  low  I  can  cross  on  the  stones." 

"  It  isn't  so  very  low  now." 

"No,  and  so  you'd  better  try  the  log.  I'll 
show  you  where  it  is."  She  took  the  path  on  one 
side  the  brook,  Adele  following  that  on  the  other, 
and  pretty  soon  they  came  to  a  log  thrown  across 
the  stream. 


48  Playmate  Polly 

"  It's  a  little  wobbly,"  said  Jessie,  "  so  you'd 
better  be  careful." 

With  some  small  shrieks  and  exclamations 
Adele  managed  to  cross  the  bridge  without  mis- 
hap. "  Now  show  me  where  you  play,"  she  said 
somewhat  coinmandingly,  Jessie  thought,  and 
therefore  she  led  the  way  silently  to  her  favorite 
spot. 

"  This  is  Playmate  Polly,"  she  said  as  if  intro- 
ducing a  friend. 

Adele  laughed.    "  What  do  you  call  it  that  for  ?  " 

"Because  it  is  her  name,"  rejoined  Jessie 
stoutly,  as  she  turned  toward  the  big  stone  near 
by.  "  This  is  my  house,"  she  went  on ;  "  it  is 
where  Charity  and  I  live.  Charity  is  my  doll." 

Adele,  without  answering,  picked  up  Charity 
and  looked  her  over.  "  She  wears  mighty  queer 
clothes,"  she  remarked  after  a  moment. 

"  That's  because  she  is  a  Colonial  Dame,"  re- 
turned Jessie  in  a  superior  tone. 

"  Oh,"  said  Adele,  setting  down  Charity  care- 
fully. She  did  not  know  just  what  a  Colonial 
Dame  was  and  did  not  want  to  show  her  igno- 
rance. "  What  do  you  call  her  Charity  for  ?  "  she 
asked  presently. 


The  Neighbor  of  the  Yellow  House    49 

"My  Aunt  Lucy  bought  her  at  a  charity 
bazaar,  and  she  said  as  Charity  was  one  of  the 
old-fashioned  names,  she  thought  it  would  suit 
an  old-fashioned  doll.  I  like  it/'  she  added  with 
decision. 

"  I  knew  a  girl  once  named  Temperance,"  re- 
marked Adele.  "  They  used  to  call  her  Tempy." 

"  Where  was  that  ?  " 

"In  New  Orleans  where  I  lived  before  we 
came  here ;  before  — "  she  hesitated,  and  then 
added  in  a  low  voice,  "  before  I  lost  my  mother." 

"  Oh ! "  Jessie  gazed  at  her  with  sympathetic 
eyes.  She  had  never  known,  before  this,  any 
little  girl  who  had  not  a  mother.  "  Was  it  very 
long  ago  ?  "  she  asked  softly. 

"  A  little  over  a  year,"  Adele  told  her.  "  I 
have  six  dolls,"  she  went  on,  changing  the  sub- 
ject. "  How  many  have  you  ?  " 

"  Five,  but  I  like  Charity  the  best.  She  is  the 
biggest  and  prettiest,  too.  I  have  one  a  little 
smaller  named  Lucy,  and  a  little  China  boy-doll 
I  like  very  much  ;  he  is  about  so  high."  She 
measured  a  height  of  four  inches  or  so.  "I 
bring  him  down  here  because  he  is  so  little  that 
I  can  put  him  most  anywhere." 


>o  Playmate  Polly 

"  What  is  his  name  ?  "  asked  Adele. 

"  Peter  Pan,"  returned  Jessie.  "  Then  I  have 
a  baby  in  long  clothes  and  a  German  doll  my 
uncle  brought  me  when  he  came  from  Europe." 

It  seemed  a  very  interesting  family  to  Adele 
who  said  regretfully,  "  My  dolls  are  so  much 
alike  I  don't  care  much  more  for  one  than  an- 
other. Some  are  newer  than  others ;  that's  all. 
Will  you  show  me  all  your  dolls  some  day  ?  " 

"Why,  certainly,"  returned  Jessie  warmly, 
adding,  "  I'm  awfully  glad  you  live  near. 
There's  no  one  this  side  the  bridge  at  all. 
Effie  Hinsdale  is  the  nearest,  but  she  lives  across 
the  railroad  track." 

"Aunt  Betty  won't  let  me  cross  it,"  said 
Adele. 

"  I  used  to  do  it  every  day ;  that  was  before 
Ezra  had  rheumatism.  I  don't  go  to  school  now. 
Do  you  go  to  the  Hill  school  ? "  Jessie  asked, 
then  added,  "  Oh,  no,  of  course  you  don't,  if  you 
can't  cross  the  railroad  track." 

"  No,  I  don't  go  anywhere,"  returned  Adele. 
"  I  am  going  to  have  a  governess  next  week." 

"  Shall  you  like  that  ?  " 

«  Oh,  I  don't  know.     I  like  Miss  Eloise.     She 


The  Neighbor  of  the  Yellow  House     51 

is  a  friend  of  my  aunt's  and  she  is  very  nice  and 
kind,  at  least  she  is  now." 

"  I  thought  governesses  were  always  cross," 
said  Jessie  as  if  it  were  a  well-known  fact. 

"  Maybe  she  will  be  when  she  gets  to  be  a 
governess,"  Adele  remarked.  "  I  hope  she  will 
not.  I  believe  I'd  rather  not  have  her  anyway. 
I  hate  lessons." 

"  So  do  I,"  returned  Jessie  delightedly.  "  I'm 
so  glad  you  feel  that  way.  I  was  so  pleased 
when  I  knew  I  could  stay  at  home  for  a  while." 

"Are  you  going  to  stay  away  from  school 
always?"  asked  Adele. 

"  Oh,  I  am  sure  I  don't  know.  I  suppose  we 
have  to  have  educations,  but  it  is  very  disagree- 
able. I  don't  see  why  educations  can't  come  like 
teeth,  when  you're  ready  for  them,  or  an  easier 
way  still  would  be  to  wake  up  some  morning  and 
find  you  could  do  every  example  in  the  arithmetic, 
and  another  morning  you  could  speak  French, 
and  another  you  would  know  all  the  rivers  and 
capitals  and  mountains  and  things.  Wouldn't 
that  be  fine  ?  " 

Adele  laughed.  "I  wake  up  every  morning 
and  know  I  can  speak  French." 


52  Playmate  Polly 

"  Oh,  do  you  ?  "  Jessie  looked  at  her  half  in- 
credulously. "I  didn't  know  any  little  girls 
could  do  that  unless  they  were  real  French  chil- 
dren who  couldn't  speak  English.  How  does  it 
happen  ?  " 

"  My  grandmother  was  French.  I  am  named 
after  her,"  Adele  told  her,  "and  my  mother 
spoke  French  as  well  as  English.  I  always 
had  a  French  nurse,  too,  so  I  learned  French 
at  the  same  time  I  did  English." 

Jessie  looked  at  her  admiringly,  then  she 
sighed.  "  Well,  I  don't  know  a  word  of  French 
or  anything  except  '  Guten  tag.'  "We  had  a 
German  to  work  for  us  once  and  he  taught  me 
that  much." 

"  Don't  let's  talk  about  such  stupid  things,"  said 
Adele  suddenly.  "  What  is  behind  those  branches 
piled  up  against  that  place  in  the  bank  here  ?  " 

Jessie  looked  at  her  quickly.  It  seemed  as  if 
Adele's  quick  eyes  and  ears  would  discover  all 
her  secrets.  "  You  won't  tell  ?  "  she  asked  after 
a  minute's  pause.  "  Cross  your  heart  you  won't  ? 
It's  a  secret,  you  see.  Playmate  Polly  is  a 
secret,  too.  Not  even  mother  or  Minerva  'mow 
about  her." 


The  Neighbor  of  the  Yellow  House    53 

"  I  promise,"  said  Adele  readily.  "  Who  is 
Minerva  ?  " 

"  Our  girl.  She  is  as  nice  as  she  can  be.  I'm 
awfully  fond  of  her." 

"Show  me  what  is  behind  the  branches." 

Jessie  led  the  way  to  the  spot  where  the  bank 
dropped  three  or  four  feet.  She  carefully  re- 
moved the  branches,  saying  mysteriously:  "It 
is  a  cave,  a  grotto." 

Adele  knelt  down  and  peeped  in  to  see  Avhere 
the  bank,  shelving  in,  made  quite  a  little  hollow. 
The  floor  of  the  small  grotto  was  paved  with 
pebbles  upon  which  lay  rugs  of  green  moss.  A 
piece  of  looking-glass  set  in  the  earth  served  for 
a  tiny  lake.  The  sides  of  the  grotto  were  hung 
with  another  kind  of  moss.  At  one  end  two 
small  candlesticks,  bearing  red  candles,  were  set 
up  and  in  a  chair  between  them  was  the  little 
china  doll. 

"  This  is  where  Peter  Pan  lives,"  said  Jessie. 
"  I'll  light  the  candles  and  you  can  see  the  lake 
better.  That  pile  of  moss  over  there  is  Petei 
Pan's  bed.  I  haven't  any  table  for  him  yet.  I 
am  hunting  for  a  nice  little  square  block  of  wood, 
or  a  smooth  round  stone  would  do.  I  haven't 


54  Playmate  Polly 

really  finished  the  grotto  yet.  Don't  you  think 
it  is  right  pretty  ?  " 

"It  is  perfectly  beautiful,"  said  Adele  en- 
thusiastically. "I  don't  see  how  you  did  it 
Oh,  won't  you  let  me  come  and  play  with  you 
sometimes  ?  " 

Jessie  felt  that  she  was  very  generous  to  be 
sharing  her  secrets  with  a  stranger,  but  when 
she  remembered  that  Adele  was  motherless  she 
felt  that  anything  she  could  do  to  give  her 
pleasure  would  be  a  small  thing,  so  she  responded 
cordially,  "  Why,  of  course." 

"I  haven't  any  little  doll  like  Peter  Pan," 
Adele  went  on,  "  but  maybe  a  paper  doll  would 
do  till  I  could  get  the  right  kind." 

"  A  paper  doll  would  do  very  well  and  you 
could  call  her  Wendy,"  said  Jessie  with  satis- 
faction. 

"Why?" 

"  Oh,  don't  you  know  Peter  Pan  ?  I  thought 
every  one  did,"  said  Jessie  in  surprise. 

"  Please  tell  me." 

"All  right,  I  will.  I  know  all  about  him. 
When  I  went  to  see  Aunt  Lucy  last  winter  she 
took  me  to  see  Peter  Pan,  and  oh,  it  was  the 


The  Neighbor  of  the  Yellow  House    55 

loveliest  thing  you  can  imagine.  Sit  down  here 
and  I  will  tell  you."  Adele  did  as  she  was  told 
and  Jessie  launched  forth  into  her  story,  Adele 
listening  attentively. 

But  before  the  story  was  finished  a  shrill 
whistle  sounded  from  the  house.  "  Oh,  dear," 
said  Jessie  jumping  up,  "I  must  go.  That  is 
for  me." 

"  How  do  you  know  it  is  for  you  ?  " 

"Mother  has  a  little  whistle  that  she  blows 
whenever  she  wants  me  to  come  home." 

"  Can't  you  just  stay  long  enough  to  finish  the 
story  ?  "  said  Adele  coaxingly.  "  Please  do." 

"  Oh,  no,  I  couldn't.  There  is  a  lot  more,  and 
mother  doesn't  like  me  to  stay  out  too  late." 

"  She  won't  mind  just  this  once." 

Jessie  hesitated  and  glanced  toward  the  house. 
Again  the  whistle  sounded. 

Hastily  gathering  up  Peter  Pan  and  Charity 
she  made  ready  to  return  home. 

"  I  think  you  are  real  mean,"  cried  Adele. 
"  You  just  get  into  the  most  interesting  part 
and  then  you  stop.  I  don't  like  you  one  bit. 
I'm  just  going  home  and  you  can  talk  to  your 
old  dumb  Polly  after  this."  She  stalked  away 


$6  Playmate  Polly 

indignantly  while  Jessie  slowly  made  her  way 
toward  the  house,  looking  back  every  little 
while  over  her  shoulder.  She  knew  she  was 
doing  right,  but  she  did  wish  Adele  had  not 
gone  off  in  a  huff.  After  all,  perhaps  Playmate 
Polly  was  more  satisfactory,  for  she  never  quar- 
reled with  her.  This  thought  made  her  turn 
and  run  back  a  few  steps  to  call  out :  "  Good- 
night, Polly." 

Just  then  she  heard  a  scream  and  some  one 
crying  out:  "Jessie,  Jessie  1"  in  tones  of  dis- 
tress. For  only  a  second  Jessie  hesitated  and 
then  she  rushed  to  the  spot  from  which  the  voice 
came  to  find  Adele  splashing  about  in  the  brook. 

"I  slipped  off  the  log,"  she  cried.  "I'm  all 
wet  and  drownded  and  there  is  a  cow  coming ! " 

Fortunately  the  brook  was  not  very  deep,  par- 
ticularly at  this  point.  Jessie  laid  down  her 
dolls,  and  went  to  the  bank  near  the  log,  reach- 
ing out  her  hands  and  calling  to  Adele,  "  Come 
up  here." 

Adele  cast  a  frightened  look  over  her  shoulder 
at  Mrs.  Mooky,  who  was  taking  an  evening  drink 
from  the  stream.  "She  won't  hurt  you,  will 
you,  Mrs.  Mooky  ?  "  said  Jessie  encouragingly. 


The  Neighbor  of  the  Yellow  House    SI 

The  cow  lifted  her  head  and  looked  fixedly  at 
Jessie,  moving  a  few  steps  nearer. 

"  Oh,  she's  coming !  She's  coming ! "  cried 
Adele  frantically  trying  to  scramble  up  the  bank. 

"No,  she  isn't,"  Jessie  assured  her.  "Give 
me  your  hand.  There  now,  you  are  safe,  but 
you  are  awfully  wet.  Come  right  home  with 
me  and  get  some  dry  clothes." 

"  No,  no,"  protested  Adele,  "  I'll  go  home." 

"It's  further  to  your  house.  You'd  better 
come,"  said  Jessie  decidedly. 

"It  was  all  that  horrid  cow,"  said  Adele. 
"She  came  splashing  down  into  the  water  and 
scared  me  so  my  foot  slipped  and  down  I  went." 

Jessie  smiled.  She  could  not  imagine  any  one 
being  afraid  of  Mrs.  Mooky,  but  she  saw  that 
Adele  was  really  frightened  so  she  only  repeated : 
"  You'd  better  come  home  with  me." 

"  "What  will  your  mother  say  ? "  said  Adele, 
still  holding  back. 

"  She'll  say  she's  very  sorry  it  happened,  and 
she'll  have  Minerva  take  you  home  unless  Sam 
is  there  with  the  carriage.  Father  went  to  town 
to-day  and  maybe  Sam  hasn't  gone  to  meet  him 
yet.  Come  right  along ;  you'll  get  cold." 


58  Playmate  Polly 

Thus  admonished,  Adele  allowed  herself  to  be 
led  up  to  the  house.  Mrs.  Loomis  met  the  two 
little  girls  at  the  porch  steps.  "This  is  Adele 
Hallett,"  said  Jessie.  "  She  lives  in  the  yellow 
house,  and  she  slipped  off  the  log  into  the  brook 
just  now.  Mrs.  Mooky  frightened  her." 

"  That  was  very  unkind  of  Mrs.  Mooky,"  said 
Mrs.  Loomis  smiling  down  at  Adele.  "  Come  in, 
dear.  You  must  be  chilled  to  the  bone  in  those 
wet  clothes.  There  is  a  good  fire  in  the  sitting- 
room.  I  always  like  to  have  it  bright  and  cheery 
for  Jessie's  father  when  he  comes  in.  Take  your 
friend  in  there,  Jessie,  and  I  will  go  up  for  some 
dry  clothes." 

The  open  wood-fire  was  sending  out  a  com- 
forting heat  as  Adele  shiveringly  came  up  to  it. 
"  You'd  better  take  off  your  shoes  and  stockings 
first;  they  are  the  wettest,"  Jessie  told  her. 
"  Your  feet  must  be  very  cold.  I'll  take  off  one 
shoe  and  you  do  the  other." 

Adele  sat  down  meekly  on  the  big  fur  rug, 
while  Jessie  helped  her  to  take  off  her  wet  foot 
gear.  "  There,"  said  Jessie,  "  stick  out  your  feet 
and  get  them  good  and  hot  while  I  unbutton 
your  frock."  Adele  obeyed  without  a  word. 


The  Neighbor  of  the  Yellow  House    59 

Presently  Mrs.  Loomis  returned  with  the  dry 
things  and  bade  Jessie  take  the  wet  ones  to 
Minerva  to  dry.  "  We'll  send  them  home  to 
you,"  she  told  Adele  as  she  helped  her  into 
Jessie's  garments.  They  were  a  little  large  for 
her,  but  they  did  very  well. 

Jessie  laughed  when  she  came  back.  "It  is 
another  me,  isn't  it,  mother?"  she  said.  "Only 
that  me  isn't  as  big  as  this  me,  and  it  has  black 
hair  instead  of  light  brown,  and  black  eyes  in- 
stead of  blue.  Do  you  feel  as  if  your  name  were 
Jessie,  and  are  you  real  warm,  Adele  ?  " 

"I  feel  quite  warm,"  said  Adele  in  a  low  voice, 
her  head  drooping. 

"I'm  going  to  mix  something  good  and  hot 
for  her  to  drink,"  said  Mrs.  Loomis,  "and  then 
Sam  can  take  her  home.  Miss  Hallett  will  be 
anxious  about  her,  and  Sam  is  about  ready  to  go 
to  the  station  to  meet  your  father." 

As  soon  as  Mrs.  Loomis  had  left  the  room 
Adele  lifted  her  eyes,  and  Jessie  saw  that  they 
were  full  of  tears.  "  I  said  I  didn't  like  you  one 
bit,"  she  burst  out,  "  but  I  do,  I  do.  I  love  you. 
I  love  you  dearly." 

"  Oh  ! — why "  Jessie  began.     She  felt  em- 


60  Playmate  Polly 

barrassed  and  was  glad  of  her  mother's  reappear, 
ance.  Mrs.  Loomis  held  a  glass  in  her  hand. 
"Drink  this,  dear,"  she  said  to  Adele.  "You 
will  find  that  it  tastes  very  good  and  it  will  keep 
you  from  taking  cold."  Adele  silently  obeyed, 
and  found  it  a  spicy-sweet  draught  which  sent  a 
warm  glow  through  her. 

Jessie  pulled  her  mother's  head  down  to  her 
level  and  whispered  something  to  her.  Mrs. 
Loomis  nodded  understandingly  and  when  Adele 
set  down  the  glass  she  lifted  the  child's  face  and 
kissed  her  gently  on  the  cheek.  "  You  must  come 
again,"  she  said. 

"  And  will  you  take  me  to  see  her  ? "  asked 
Jessie  eagerly. 

"  To  be  sure  I  will,"  replied  Mrs.  Loomis.  "  I 
am  going  to  call  on  your  aunt,  dear,"  she  said  to 
Adele,  "  and  I  hope  we  shall  all  be  good  friends 
and  neighbors." 

Adele  looked  at  her  for  a  moment  and  then  she 
caught  her  hand  and  laid  her  own  cheek  against 
it.  "  You  are  lovely,"  she  said, "  and  Jessie  is  just 
like  you.  I  want  her  to  be  m}^  friend  forever." 

Then  Minerva  appeared  at  the  door  to  say  that 
Sam  was  ready  with  the  carriage. 


CHAPTER  IV 
Aunt  Betty 

THE  next  day  there  was  no  sign  of  Adele, 
though  from  time  to  time  Jessie  looked  up  from 
her  play  to  see  if  her  new  friend  by  chance  might 
be  coming  along  the  path  on  the  other  side  of  the 
brook.  Sam  had  delivered  the  little  girl's  be- 
longings at  the  yellow  house,  and  had  been  told 
that  none  of  the  family  were  up.  Later  Jessie's 
clothes  were  returned  with  a  note  of  thanks.  So 
Playmate  Polly  had  it  all  her  own  way  that  day, 
and  Peter  Pan  was  provided  with  more  moss 
hangings  as  well  as  a  new  ornament  in  the  shape 
of  a  bright  pink  pebble  for  his  grotto.  Jessie 
had  told  her  mother  all  that  she  had  learned 
about  Adele  and  had  received  some  information 
in  return.  Miss  Betty  Hallett,  Adele's  aunt,  was 
a  delicate  woman,  and  Adele  herself  was  not 
strong,  so  the  doctor  had  declared  they  would 
both  be  better  in  the  country,  and  as  Mr.  Hallett 
had  removed  his  business  from  the  south  to  the 
middle  states  he  had  discovered  in  the  yellow 


64  Playmate  Polly 

house  by  the  brook,  just  the  place  which  he 
thought  would  suit  his  sister  and  his  little  daugh- 
ter. It  was  not  so  far  from  the  city  where  he  had 
his  office  but  that  he  could  come  home  frequently 
to  spend  Sunday,  and  it  was  in  a  healthful  region 
as  well  as  a  very  attractive  one. 

"  So  now,"  Mrs.  Loomis  told  Jessie,  "  I  must 
call  on  Miss  Hallett  at  once,  for  we  are  her  nearest 
neighbors  and  I  am  sure  she  must  be  lonely." 

They  set  off,  therefore,  one  afternoon,  in  the 
little  phaeton  which  Mrs.  Loomis  always  drove 
herself,  and  soon  they  drew  up  before  the  yellow 
house  and  were  ushered  into  a  room  filled  with 
stately  old  furniture  and  sombre  portraits.  "  I 
don't  think  it  is  as  cozy  as  our  house,"  whispered 
Jessie. 

"  Hush,  dear,"  returned  Mrs.  Loomis.  "  It  is 
far  handsomer,  and  probably  after  a  while  it  witi. 
look  more  cheerful.  You  see  everything  is  not 
settled." 

At  this  moment  Miss  Hallett  entered  and  Jes- 
sie shrank  back  against  her  mother,  surprise  and 
something  like  horror  in  her  eyes,  for  she  saw  a 
tiny  little  woman  with  deep  dark  eyes,  a  mourn- 
ful mouth  and  rather  a  large  head  set  down  be- 


Aunt  Betty  65 

tween  her  shoulders.  Jessie  had  never  come  in 
contact  with  a  hunchback  before  and  she  gripped 
her  mother's  hand  hard.  Mrs.  Loomis  gave  her 
fingers  a  gentle  pressure  before  she  rose  to  meet 
Miss  Hallett  whose  sudden  smile  lighted  up  her 
sallow  face.  "  I  hope  we  are  not  coming  to  you 
before  you  are  ready  to  receive  a  call,"  said  Mrs. 
Loomis.  "  We  are  your  nearest  neighbors,  Miss 
Hallett,  and  I  hope  you  will  believe  that  we  want 
to  be  true  ones." 

"  I  am  so  glad  to  see  you,"  returned  Miss  Hal- 
lett. "  This  dull  day  has  given  me  an  attack  of 
the  blues,  and  you  could  not  have  chosen  a  better 
time  for  coming.  I  have  been  wanting  an  oppor- 
tunity to  thank  you  for  your  kindness  to  Adele, 
but  we  have  been  so  busy,  it  seemed  impossible 
for  me  to  find  time  to  go  anywhere.  Adele  has 
talked  of  nothing  else  but  you  and  your  little  girl 
since  her  rather  awkward  tumble.  I  am  afraid 
she  gave  you  a  great  deal  of  trouble." 

"  Not  a  bit  of  it,"  returned  Mrs.  Loomis.  "  I 
only  hope  she  didn't  take  cold." 

"No,  she  did  not,  thanks  to  your  prompt 
measures.  She  is  an  impulsive,  headstrong  little 
creature,  and  I  am  at  loss  sometimes  just  how 


66  Playmate  Polly 

to  manage  her.  Fortunately  iny  friend  Miss 
Laurent  has  consented  to  come  to  us,  and  with 
her  cooperation  I  hope  we  shall  do  great  things 
for  Adele.  I  wanted  to  have  the  house  all  in 
order  before  Miss  Laurent  should  come,  and  it 
has  been  such  a  task." 

Jessie  wished  very  much  that  Miss  Hallett 
would  send  for  Adele  instead  of  talking  about 
her,  and  presently  was  relieved  when  a  tall 
mulatto  woman  was  summoned.  "  Go  tell  Miss 
Adele  that  she  is  to  come  in,  Angeline,"  said 
Miss  Hallett.  "Or,"  she  turned  to  Mrs.  Loomis, 
"  perhaps  your  little  girl  would  rather  go  out  to 
Adele.  She  is  in  the  summer-house.  My  brother 
has  had  it  enclosed  with  glass,  and  Adele  rather 
likes  to  play  there.  "Would  you  rather  go  to 
Adele  ?  "  she  asked  Jessie. 

There  was  no  doubt  in  Jessie's  mind  that  she 
would  very  much  prefer  this,  and  in  another  mo- 
ment she  was  following  Angeline  through  the 
hall  to  a  side  door  and  down  a  broad  walk  to  the 
summer-house. 

"  Young  lady  to  see  you,  honey  baby,"  said 
Angeline  putting  her  head  in  the  door. 

Adele,  who  was  busy  over  something  in  one 


Aunt  Betty  67 

corner,  turned  suddenly  and  caught  sight  of 
Jessie  standing  on  the  sill.  She  darted  forward, 
and  flung  her  arms  around  her  visitor,  kissing 
her  first  on  one  cheek  and  then  on  the  other. 
"  I  am  so  glad  you  have  come,"  she  cried.  "  I 
thought  you  never  would.  You  may  go,  Angel- 
ine."  She  turned  to  the  tall  maid  who  drew 
down  her  mouth  and  disappeared  leaving  the 
little  girls  alone. 

"I  thought  of  course  you  would  come  over 
yesterday,  to  the  play  place,  you  know,"  re- 
turned Jessie. 

Adele  dropped  her  eyes  and  appeared  to  be 
looking  attentively  at  her  toes.  "I  couldn't," 
she  said  presently. 

"  Why  not  ?  " 

"  She  wouldn't  let  me." 

"What  she?" 

"Aunt  Betty.  She's  horrid  like  that  some- 
times and  is  just  as  mean  as  she  can  be." 

"  Is  that  because  she  isn't — she  isn't  just  like 
other  people  ?  "  asked  Jessie  hesitatingly.  She 
could  readily  understand  that  a  person  who 
looked  like  Miss  Hallett  might  have  reason  to 
be  disagreeable. 


68  Playmate  Polly 

Adele  looked  at  her  fixedly  for  a  moment, 
then  to  Jessie's  great  discomfiture  she  burst  into 
tears.  "  She  isn't  1  She  isn't !  She  isn't ! "  she 
repeated.  "  She  is  just  like  other  people  and  she 
is  dear  and  good  and  lovely.  You  shan't  say  she 
is  not." 

Jessie  was  bewildered.  "I  didn't  mean — I 
didn't  mean "  she  began  helplessly. 

"  It  was  I  who  was  horrid,"  Adele  went  on. 
"  It  was  all  my  doing.  I  got  mad  and  screamed 
and  fought  Angeline  and  wouldn't  eat  my  sup- 
per because  I  couldn't  have  coffee  and  lots,  lots, 
lots  of  sugar  in  it,  and  so  Aunt  Betty  said  I 
shouldn't  go  to  see  you  till  she  said  I  might. 
She  isn't  horrid  at  all,  and  you  shan't  say  she  is. 
She  is  perfectly  beautiful." 

"It  wasn't  /  who  said  she  was  horrid,  you 
know,"  said  Jessie  with  an  emphasis  on  the  /. 

"Well,  I  don't  care.  Tou  thought  so." 
Adele  wiped  her  eyes  and  stood  thoughtfully 
picking  off  the  dead  leaves  from  a  potted  ge- 
ranium on  a  shelf  near  by.  Jessie  was  silent. 
She  hardly  knew  whether  to  go  or  stay. 

Presently  Adele  turned  around  with  the 
sweetest  of  smiles.  "  Let's  play,"  she  said. 


Aunt  Betty  69 

Til  show  you  all  my  dolls.  Why  didn't  you 
bring  Charity  or  Peter  Pan  with  you  ?  " 

"  I  will  next  time,"  said  Jessie,  relieved  at  the 
turn  of  affairs,  but  wondering  what  kind  of  girl 
Adele  really  was. 

"Come,"  cried  Adele,  grasping  Jessie's  hand. 
"  The  dolls  are  all  up  in  the  playroom.  I  was 
making  medicine  for  them  just  now.  They  have 
ague,  every  blessed  one  of  them,  and  they  are 
shaking  their  heads  off,  at  least  one  of  them  is," 
she  added  with  a  laugh.  "  I'll  show  you  which 
one  it  is."  She  pulled  Jessie  along  the  board- 
walk and  up  stairs  to  a  pleasant  upper  room 
where  six  dolls  were  abed,  most  of  them  staring 
smilingly  at  the  ceiling,  though  two  of  them  had 
their  eyes  shut.  Adele  picked  up  one  of  them 
and  showed  a  very  wobbly  head  which  seemed 
in  danger  of  soon  departing  from  its  body. 
"  This  is  the  shakiest  one,"  she  said,  "  and  she'll 
have  to  have  a  double  dose  of  medicine.  Indeed, 
I  don't  know  but  that  she  will  have  to  go 
to  a  hospital.  That  is  my  newest  one."  She 
pointed  to  a  very  fresh  and  smiling  flaxen-haired 
beauty. 

"  What  is  her  name  ?  "  asked  Jessie. 


yo  Playmate  Polly 

"  She  hasn't  any  in  particular.  I  never  name 
my  dolls." 

"  Oh,  don't  you  ?  "  This  seemed  as  incredible 
to  Jessie  as  if  she  had  been  told  that  a  family  of 
children  had  been  left  unnamed.  "I  don't  see 
how  you  get  along  if  you  don't  name  them,"  she 
said. 

"  Oh,  I  scarcely  ever  play  with  more  than  one 
at  a  time,  and  then  I  can  always  call  that  one 
dolly  or  honey  or  something,"  was  the  reply. 

"  I  should  think  you  would  have  to  name 
them,"  persisted  Jessie.  "  When  you  are  talking 
about  them  what  do  you  say  ?  " 

"  I  hardly  ever  do  talk  about  them.  When  I 
do  it  is  to  Aunt  Betty,  and  then  I  say  the  new 
doll,  or  the  doll  with  the  brown  hair,  or  some- 
thing of  that  kind.  Don't  let's  play  with  dolls. 
I  bet  you  can't  catch  mo  before  I  get  down- 
stairs." And  while  Jessie  was  recovering  herself 
Adele  was  off  and  away  down  the  stairs  at  the 
foot  of  which  she  stood  laughing  as  Jessie  de- 
scended more  slowly.  "I  think  I  shall  ask 
Angeline  for  some  cakes,"  she  said.  "  Come 
along  into  the  kitchen.  I  suppose  that  cross  old 
Roxy  wouldn't  give  us  any,  but  I  can  coax  An- 


Aunt  Betty  71 

geline  into  anything.  Angeline !  Angeline !  "  she 
called  imperiously,  "  come  here." 

Angeline  appeared  at  the  entry  door.  "  I  want 
some  cakes,"  said  Adele,  "  some  for  Jessie  and 
me.  We're  hungry." 

"  Dey  ain'  no  mo'  cakes,  honey,"  said  Angeline. 
"  Yo  done  eat  'em.  all  up." 

"Then  make  some  right  away,  or  tell  Eoxy 
she's  got  to  do  it." 

"  Koxy  she  done  gone  to  de  sto'." 

"  Oh,  bother !  You  go  along  and  make 
some,  and  be  quick  about  it,  too,"  ordered 
Adele. 

"  Law,  honey  chile,  how  long  yuh  spec'  it  tek 
to  mek  up  de  fiah  an'  bake  cake  ?  Yuh  foolish, 
chile.  I  done  got  some  sweet  ertaters  in  de 
ashes,"  she  hastened  to  say  as  she  saw  Adele's 
face  puckering  up  for  a  cry.  "  I  tell  yuh  what, 
honey ;  I  git  yuh  two  nice  bowls  o'  milk  an'  nice 
sweet  ertaters  an'  yuh  kin  tek  'em  out  in  de 
summah-house  an'  eat  'em." 

"  I  suppose  that  will  have  to  do,"  said  Adele 
with  resignation.  "  Do  you  like  sweet  potatoes 
and  milk  ?  "  she  asked  Jessie. 

"  I  never  ate  any.    At  least,  of  course  I  have 


72  Playmate  Polly 

eaten  sweet  potatoes  often  enough  and  I  drink 
milk,  but  I  never  ate  them  together." 

"They  are  mighty  good  together,"  Adele 
assured  her.  '•'  Bring  'em  along,  Angeline,  to  the 
summer-house,  and  don't  you  be  forever  about  it 
either."  And  Adele  stalked  off  with  Jessie  in 
her  wake. 

"  She's  very  good-natured,  isn't  she  ?  "  remarked 
Jessie  when  they  had  reached  the  summer-house. 

"  "Who  ?  Angeline  ?    Oh,  so  so." 

"  I  wouldn't  dare  to  talk  to  Minerva  that  way," 
said  Jessie  after  a  pause. 

"  You  wouldn't  ?  I  don't  see  why.  I  always 
talk  as  I  please  to  Angeline.  She  nursed  my 
mother  and  she  nursed  me,  and  she  doesn't  care 
what  I  say  to  her.  Besides,  I  am  her  mistress." 
Adele  held  her  head  high,  and  Jessie  looked  at 
her  admiringly. 

"  "Well,"  she  said,  "  I  suppose  that  must  make 
a  difference;  Minerva  was  never  nurse  to  my 
mother." 

The  two  bowls  of  milk  and  warm  sweet  pota- 
toes soon  appeared  and  though  Jessie  did  not 
care  very  much  for  the  combination,  she  ate  part 
of  her  share  fearing  she  might  seem  rude  if  she 


Aunt  Betty  73 

did  not.  She  was  glad,  however,  that  she  did 
not  have  to  finish,  and  that  a  message  from  her 
mother  obliged  her  to  return  to  the  house. 

"  We  must  go  now,  dear,"  said  Mrs.  Loomis. 
"  We  have  made  a  long  call."  She  smiled  at 
Adele  as  the  two  little  girls  came  in. 

"Oh,  no,  you  mustn't  go,"  spoke  up  Adele. 
"  At  least,  you  might  let  Jessie  stay.  Won't  you, 
please  ?  " 

"Not  to-day,"  said  Mrs.  Loomis  gently. 
"  Your  aunt  has  been  kind  enough  to  promise  that 
we  may  have  you  to-morrow  to  spend  the  day,  so  I 
think  Jessie  and  I  will  have  to  say  good-bye  now." 

"  Oh,  am  I  going  for  the  whole  day  ? "  ex- 
claimed Adele  delightedly,  catching  her  aunt's 
hand  and  pressing  her  cheek  against  it  as  was 
her  way  of  doing.  "  Is  Angeline  going  to  take 
me,  or  can  I  go  alone  ?  I  know  the  way." 

"  You  may  go  over  alone,"  Miss  Betty  told  her. 
"  But  I  will  send  Angeline  for  you." 

Remembering  Adele's  outburst  earlier  in  the 
afternoon,  Jessie  steeled  herself  to  move  closer 
to  Miss  Hallett  and  to  say,  "  I'm  glad  you  will 
let  Adele  come.  I  haven't  any  little  girls  to 
play  with,  vou  see." 


74  Playmate  Polly 

"  Oh,  yes,  you  have,"  put  in  Adele  with  mis- 
chief in  her  eyes ;  "  you  have  Playmate  Polly, 
you  know." 

Mrs.  Loomis  looked  down  with  a  puzzled  ex- 
pression. "  Who  in  the  world  is  Playmate 
Polly  ?"  she  asked.  "  I  never  heard  of  her." 

"  She  is  a  horrid  creature,"  said  Adele  laughing. 
"She  has  scraggy  hair,  and  a  dreadful  rough 
skin,  but  Jessie  is  very  fond  of  her,  and  I  don't 
like  her  to  be." 

Jessie  hung  her  head.  She  was  afraid  of  be- 
ing laughed  at.  "  She's  only  a  tree,"  she  said  in 
a  low  voice. 

Miss  Betty  smiled,  but  Mrs.  Loomis  put  her 
arm  around  her  little  daughter  and  said :  "  Then 
I  am  sure  she  is  a  very  harmless  acquaintance, 
who  will  set  my  little  girl  no  bad  examples,  and 
I  am  sure  she  is  much  better  than  no  one." 

Jessie  looked  up  with  a  grateful  smile.  Mother 
always  understood.  She  would  tell  her  all  about 
Polly  now  that  it  was  a  secret  no  longer.  Yet 
she  felt  hurt  and  offended  to  think  that  Adele 
had  not  kept  faith  with  her,  though,  as  she  re- 
flected, it  was  not  about  Polly  that  her  promise 
was  made,  but  about  Peter  Pan  and  his  grotto. 


Aunt  Betty  J$ 

Adele  knew,  however,  that  Jessie  wanted  both 
kept  a  secret,  and  so  the  little  visitor  threw  her 
hostess  a  reproachful  look  which  Adele  under- 
stood and  eagerly  responded  to  by  saying,  "  I 
didn't  tell  about  the  other  thing,  Jessie.  In- 
deed I  didn't.  Now  that  you  have  me,  I 
didn't  suppose  you  would  care  any  more  about 
Polly." 

Mrs.  Loom  is  was  too  considerate  to  ask  about 
"  the  other  thing,"  but  she  was  told  all  about  Play- 
mate Polly  on  the  way  home,  and  agreed  with 
Jessie  that  it  was  very  well  to  have  such  an 
amiable  friend  when  there  was  danger  of  a  sud- 
den flare  up  from  Adele. 

"  The  poor  child  has  no  mother ;  we  must  be 
very  patient  with  her,"  Mrs.  Loomis  said.  "  She 
has  always  been  a  delicate  little  thing,  and  in 
consequence  is  greatly  spoiled.  Her  aunt  is  very 
frail,  too,  and  says  she  cannot  stand  scenes.  I 
hope  Miss  Laurent  will  have  wisdom  enough  to 
know  how  to  manage  such  a  wilful  little  girl. 
Miss  Hallett  tells  me  that  her  friend  is  a  very 
superior  woman  and  that  she  hopes  a  great  deal 
from  her."  She  was  silent  for  a  few  minutes 
while  Barney  carried  them  several  rods  along 


76  Playmate  Polly 

the  road.  Then  she  said,  "  What  do  you  think 
of  having  lessons  with  Adele,  daughter  ?  " 

"  Oh !  Why,  I  don't  know.  I  suppose  if  I 
have  to  have  lessons  at  all  that  it  would  be  nicer 
than  anything.  Am  I  to  do  it,  mother  ?  " 

"  I  think  so.  I  shall  have  to  speak  to  your 
father  first,  but  Miss  Hallett  is  very  eager  to 
have  such  an  arrangement  and  brought  up  the 
subject  herself,  so  I  do  not  see  but  that  we  shall 
profit  by  it.  She  is  very  anxious  that  Adele 
should  have  a  companion,  for  she  has  been  too 
much  with  older  persons,  and  it  would  certainly 
settle  our  difficulty  of  lessons  for  you." 

This  gave  Jessie  a  great  deal  to  think  about 
all  that  evening,  and  the  last  question  she  asked 
that  night  was,  "  Will  you  promise  to  tell  me 
first  thing  in  the  morning,  mother  ?  " 

And  her  mother  answered,  "  I  promise." 


CHAPTER  V 
A  New 


CHAPTER  V 
A  New  Pet 

As  Mrs.  Loomis  had  said,  Miss  Hallett's  prop- 
osition settled  the  question  of  lessons  for  Jessie, 
and  so  when  Adele  appeared  the  next  morning, 
bright  and  early,  Jessie  had  the  great  piece  of 
news  to  tell  her,  and  Adele  responded  in  her 
usual  tempestuous  way  by  giving  Jessie  a  tre- 
mendous hug,  and  by  rushing  to  Mrs.  Loomis  to 
embrace  her,  too.  "  It  will  be  perfectly  lovely," 
she  cried.  "  You  will  come  to  my  house  every 
morning  and  we'll  have  lessons  in  the  playroom ; 
it  will  have  to  be  a  workroom  then,  and  in  the 
afternoon  we  can  play  by  the  brook." 

"  We'll  not  be  able  to  all  winter,"  said  Jessie, 
"  for  it  will  be  too  cold." 

"  Oh,  I  forgot  that ;  we  don't  have  much  win- 
ter down  our  way,  you  know." 

"Of  course  I  don't  mean  that  we  can  never 
play  out-of-doors,"  returned  Jessie,  "  but  it  will 
be  too  damp  down  by  the  brook  most  of  the 
time,  and  it  will  often  be  too  snowy." 


8o  Playmate  Polly 

"  Oh,  the  snow  !  I  long  for  it,"  cried  Adele 
clasping  her  hands. 

"  It  is  nice,"  said  Jessie.  "  I  like  to  slide  on 
the  ice,  too,  even  when  it  isn't  snowy.  We  can 
often  go  out  on  the  little  pond  when  the  ice  is 
thick.  It  is  rather  fun  to  be  out  in  the  cold  at 
any  time,  for  you  feel  so  good  when  you  come  in." 

"  I  shall  get  Miss  Eloise  to  let  me  walk  home 
with  you  sometimes,"  said  Adele,  "  because  you 
will  have  to  come  by  yourself  in  the  morning, 
and  it  wouldn't  be  fair  for  you  to  walk  both  ways 
alone.  Does  the  brook  freeze  over?  " 

"Sometimes,"  Jessie  told  her,  "and  then  we 
can  cross  on  the  ice.  I'd  rather  go  that  way  al- 
ways, for  it  is  shorter  than  to  go  around  by  the 
road,  but  I  suppose  I  can't  in  very  bad  weather." 

"  "What  will  you  do  about  Polly  when  it  gets 
cold  ?  "  asked  Adele. 

"  Oh,  I  can  always  see  her  except  when  there  is 
deep  snow." 

"  And  the  grotto  ?  " 

"  I'll  have  to  cover  it  up  with  brush  and  it  will 
be  there  in  the  spring.  Why  did  you  tell  my 
secret,  Adele  ?  " 

"Because   I   don't  like   Polly.    I  didn't  tell 


A  New  Pet  8v 

about  the  grotto,  did  I  ?  and  I  think  Polly  is  ugly. 
I  wish  you  didn't  like  her." 

"  Anyhow,  she  never  tells  things  I  don't  want 
her  to,"  said  Jessie  severely. 

Adele  buried  her  head  in  the  sofa  cushion  of 
the  lounge  upon  which  she  was  sitting,  and  began 
to  sob,  "  I  don't  care,  I  don't  care.  She  is  noth- 
ing but  an  ugly  wicked  old  tree,  and  you  shall 
love  me  best,  because  I  love  you  best.  I  don't 
pick  out  queer  bad  old  creatures  like  that  to  love 
more  than  you.  I  believe  she  is  nothing  but  an 
old  witch." 

For  a  moment  Jessie  felt  quite  remorseful,  but 
then  a  feeling  of  not  wanting  to  be  forced  into 
likes  and  dislikes  took  possession  of  her,  and  she 
relentlessly  said :  "  I  shall  not  like  you  best  if 
you  tell  my  secrets." 

"  I  won't  tell  any  more.  'Deed  and  'deed  I 
won't,"  said  Adele,  lifting  a  tear-stained  face. 
"  Please  love  me  best,  Jessie."  She  caught  Jes- 
sie's hands  and  put  them  around  her  own  neck 
looking  at  her  so  pleadingly  that  Jessie's  heart 
melted  and  she  answered :  "  All  right,  I'll  like 
you  best." 

But  the  words  were  scarcely  out  of  her  mouth 


82  Playmate  Polly 

before  they  were  stopped  with  kisses,  and  Adele 
looked  as  happy  as  she  had  looked  miserable  a 
moment  before.  "  Now  come,"  she  said,  "  let's 
go  to  the  grotto.  I  brought  paper  dolls ;  one  is 
"Wendy  and  the  other  is  Tinker  Bell.  Now  you 
can  finish  the  story,  and  we'll  have  a  lovely  time." 

They  started  off  very  happily,  Mrs.  Loomis 
watching  them  from  the  window.  "  I  don't  know 
how  it  is  going  to  turn  out,"  she  said  to  herself, 
"  but  I  hope  Jessie  will  learn  self-control  by  see- 
ing how  it  looks  to  fly  into  such  tantrums  as 
Adele's.  I  think  the  sight  of  them  will  do  her 
more  good  than  any  amount  of  precept." 

Having  given  her  word  that  Polly  should  no 
more  have  first  place,  Jessie  was  ready  to  be  very 
amiably  disposed  toward  Adele,  yet  from  nine 
o'clock  in  the  morning  till  six  in  the  evening  is  a 
long  stretch,  and  it  was  rather  too  much  to  ex- 
pect that  two  excitable  little  girls  could  spend  all 
that  time  in  one  another's  company  without  dis- 
agreements. Once  during  the  day  Jessie  gathered 
up  her  dolls  and  started  for  home,  leaving  Adele 
disconsolately  sitting  on  a  stone,  but  Adele  was 
the  first  to  ask  to  make  up,  and  begged  so  hard 
to  be  taken  back  into  favor  that  Jessie  yielded. 


A  New  Pet  83 

Once,  too,  Adele  in  a  sudden  rage  threatened  to 
demolish  the  grotto,  because  Jessie  insisted  upon 
having  her  way  with  "Wendy. 

"  She's  mine,"  protested  Adele. 

"I  don't  care.  I  know  all  about  her  better 
than  you.  I  saw  the  play  and  you  didn't,"  this 
conclusively. 

Adele  flung  Wendy  on  the  ground  and  added 
insult  to  injury  by  threatening  to  chop  down  Play- 
mate Polly  some  night.  "  And  when  you  get  up 
in  the  morning,  she  will  be  gone  forever,"  said 
Adele. 

This  was  too  much  for  Jessie.  "You  won't 
dare  to  do  such  a  thing,"  she  cried.  "  I  shall  tell 
my  father  never  to  let  you  step  your  foot  on  the 
place  again.  You  can  just  take  your  old  paper 
dolls  and  go  home." 

Adele  arose  speechless  with  rage.  She  delib- 
erately tore  Tinker  Bell  into  bits  and  threw  the 
pieces  at  Jessie,  then  snatching  up  Wendy  she 
turned  toward  home. 

At  once  Jessie  seemed  to  hear  her  mother  say : 
"  We  must  be  patient  with  her ;  she  has  no 
mother."  And  she  was  filled  with  remorse. 
"  Come  back,  come  back,"  she  cried.  "  I  didn't 


84  Playmate  Polly 

mean  it  at  all.  You  can  have  "Wendy  do  any- 
thing you  like.  And  it  doesn't  matter  about 
Tinker  Bell.  No  one  ever  sees  her  anyway,  for 
she's  just  a  little  twinkling  light.  One  of  the 
candles  will  do  for  her.  I'm  sorry ;  I  really  am, 
Adele."  So  peace  was  made,  and  the  rest  of  the 
day  passed  happily  enough. 

"When  they  went  up  to  the  house  for  dinner 
Sain  met  them.  "  I've  got  a  new  pet  for  you," 
he  said  to  Jessie.  "  Come  down  to  the  barn 
after  dinner  and  I'll  show  you." 

"Oh,  what  is  it?    Do  tell  us,"  begged  Jessie. 

But  Sam  laughed  and  walked  away,  so  Jessie 
knew  it  was  no  use  to  question  further,  for  Sam 
never  would  be  coaxed  to  tell.  She  was  in  great 
haste  to  finish  her  dinner,  but  Adele  was  hungry 
and  seemed  to  enjoy  everything  so  much  that 
Jessie  felt  that  it  would  not  be  polite  to  hurry 
her.  She  did  not  hesitate,  however,  to  urge 
Adele  to  make  haste  as  soon  as  her  last  mouth- 
ful of  dessert  was  swallowed.  "  Do  come  right 
away,"  she  said.  "I  must  see  what  Sam  has. 
Aren't  you  wild  to  know  ?  I  am." 

"What  do  you  think  it  is?"  said  Adele. 
"Maybe  he  was  only  fooling." 


A  New  Pet  85 

"  No,  I  am  sure  he  was  in  earnest.  I  know 
Sam  well  enough  for  that.  He  often  brings  me 
things,  and  I  have  an  idea  this  is  something 
alive." 

The  two  children  were  not  long  in  reaching 
the  barn,  the  big  door  of  which  was  open.  It 
was  a  big,  roomy  place  smelling  of  hay.  Three 
horses  stood  in  their  stalls,  and  as  the  little  girls 
entered,  a  brown  hen  flew  cackling  from  one  of 
the  empty  mangers.  "I'll  have  Sam  get  that 
egg  for  us,"  remarked  Jessie.  "  I  wonder  where 
he  is.  Sam  !  Sam  ! "  she  called. 

A  voice  answered  from  the  harness  room  and 
Jessie  led  the  way  thither.  Sam  was  sitting  on 
a  box  mending  harness.  "Here  we  are,"  said 
Jessie.  "  Show  us  what  you  said  you  had." 

"  See  if  you  can  find  it,"  said  Sam,  and  Jessie 
immediately  set  to  work  to  search.  She  knew 
all  the  corners  and  crannies,  if  Adele  did  not. 
It  was  quite  like  a  game,  and  rather  an  enter- 
taining one.  Here  they  came  upon  a  setting  hen 
who  had  stolen  a  nest  in  the  hay ;  there  a  squeak- 
ing mouse  would  scuttle  across  the  timbers,  scar- 
ing both  girls  into  shrieking.  At  last  they  made 
their  discovery,  for,  as  they  were  searching  in 


86  Playmate  Polly 

front  of  Barney's  stall,  directly  above  their  heads 
something  suddenly  cried  out :  "  Caw ! " 

The  children  looked  up  to  see  a  black  crow- 
looking  down  at  them  from  a  perch  in  the  corner. 
"Oh,  I  believe  that  is  it,"  said  Jessie.  "Sam! 
Sam !  is  it  a  crow  ?  " 

Sam  came  forward  and  lifted  down  the  bird 
which  was  tethered  by  a  long  cord.  "  Yes,"  he 
said.  "  He  is  a  young  one  that  got  a  little  hurt 
somehow.  I  found  him  in  the  cornfield.  He'll 
learn  to  talk  after  a  bit,  and  I've  clipped  his 
wings  so  he  can't  fly  far.  He  will  get  as  tame 
as  a  dog  after  a  while." 

Jessie  put  a  finger  on  the  shining  black  head 
of  the  crow.  "  Isn't  he  funny  ?  "  she  said.  "  It 
will  be  perfectly  lovely  to  have  a  pet  who  can 
talk,  and  I  think  you  are  very  good,  Sam,  to  bring 
him  to  me.  Will  he  say  real  words,  like  people  ?  " 

"He  won't  be  quite  as  glib  as  a  parrot,  maybe, 
but  he  will  say  a  number  of  words,  and  it  won't 
be  long  before  he  will  be  following  you  every- 
where." 

"  I  don't  think  he  is  very  pretty,"  remarked 
Adele,  who  was  standing  at  one  side  and  did  not 
seem  to  care  about  touching  the  bird. 


A  New  Pet  87 

"  Oh,  I  think  he  is,"  returned  Jessie.  "  He  is 
so  jetty  black,  and  has  such  a  knowing  look.  I 
like  him  very  much.  I  don't  suppose  I  can  keep 
him  in  the  house,  Sam." 

"  Better  not,  or  he'll  be  playing  havoc  with 
things.  He'll  soon  learn  to  stay  around  with  the 
chickens,  and  when  you  want  to  have  him  near 
you  can  tether  him.  I  knew  one  once  that  was 
as  good  as  a  watch-dog.  Let  any  one  come 
around  day  or  night  and  he'd  set  up  his  Caw ! 
Caw !  I'll  take  him  out-of-doors  for  you  now. 
He  can't  get  away  very  far,  but  I'd  better  tether 
him.  Where'll  you  have  him  ?  " 

"Oh,  down  by  the  brook  where  we  play," 
Jessie  told  him. 

The  two  little  girls  led  the  way  and  Sam  teth- 
ered the  bird  by  a  long  cord.  He  hopped  around 
contentedly,  and  soon  became  tame  enough  to 
come  quite  close  to  the  girls  and  peck  at  their 
feet.  "Polly  can  take  care  of  him,  you  see," 
said  Jessie.  "  I  think  she  rather  likes  birds,  at 
least  I've  seen  her  holding  them  quite  often." 

Adele  laughed.  "  You  do  say  such  ridiculous 
things  about  Polly." 

Jessie  paid  no  attention  to  this  remark  but 


88  Playmate  Polly 

continued  her  line  of  thought.  "I  think  she 
misses  my  playing  with  her  as  much  as  I  used  to, 
so  I'll  tell  her  she  can  play  with  the  crow  all  she 
likes.  I  wonder  what  we'd  better  call  him. 
He's  as  shiny  and  black  as  coal ;  you  know  the 
kind  that  has  all  sorts  of  colors  in  it.  He  looks 
that  way  when  he  turns  his  head." 

"  I  don't  think  Coal  would  be  a  very  pretty 
name,"  objected  Adele. 

"I  don't  think  so  either,"  Jessie  agreed  with  her. 
"I'll  have  to  think  of  something  else."  They 
turned  over  in  their  minds  all  the  things  that 
suggested  blackness  or  darkness,  from  ink  to 
thunder-clouds,  finally  hitting  upon  Ebony, 
which  was  a  happy  thought  of  Jessie's  who  re- 
membered an  ebony  chest  in  her  Aunt  Lucy's 
house.  "  "We  can  call  him  Ebon  for  short,"  she 
said.  "  It  is  a  nice,  easy  name." 

"  And  Eb  would  be  still  shorter,"  said  Adele. 
"Hello,  Eb." 

The  crow  responded  by  putting  his  head  to 
one  side  and  remarking  "  Caw ! "  in  a  way  which 
made  both  girls  laugh. 

"  When  I  get  the  gray  kitten,"  said  Jessie,  "  I 
shall  have  two  new  pets." 


A  New  Pet  89 

"  And  I  haven't  any,"  said  Adele  wistfully. 

"  I  am  sure  Effie  Hinsdale  would  give  you  one 
of  the  kittens,"  said  Jessie.  "  I'll  ask  mother  if 
we  can  go  there  Saturday.  I  know  she  will  be 
glad — Effie  I  mean — to  get  a  good  home  for  an- 
other kitten.  There  is  a  gray  something  like 
mine  and  two  black  ones." 

"  I'd  rather  have  black,  I  think,  and  I'll  call  it 
Velvet,"  said  Adele  swift  in  decision. 

"I've  named  mine  Cloudy,"  Jessie  told  her. 
"  We  can't  have  them  yet,  you  know." 

"Why  not?" 

"  They're  not  big  enough  to  leave  their  mother. 
I  thought  I  saw  a  cat,  a  yellow  cat,  on  your 
porch  one  morning." 

"  Oh,  that's  the  stable  cat.  He  is  very  wild 
and  won't  let  me  come  near  him.  I'd  rather 
have  a  kitten  anyway." 

"Well,  we  can  go  see  the  kittens  at  Effie's 
even  if  we  can't  take  them  just  yet,  and  we  shall 
have  the  crow." 

"  And  Polly,"  put  in  Adele  with  a  laugh. 

"She  isn't  a  pet;  she  is  a  friend,"  replied  Jes- 
sie with  some  dignity,  feeling  that  Adele  meant 
to  underrate  Playmate  Polly's  importance. 


go  Playmate  Polly 

In  a  very  short  time  Ebon  had  become  quite 
tame,  and  followed  the  little  girls  as  if  he  were 
a  dog.  He  constantly  amused  them  by  his 
funny  ways.  Although  he  had  not  yet  learned 
to  talk,  Sam  declared  that  he  would  in  time, 
and  meanwhile  Adele  went  with  Jessie  to  see 
Effie's  kittens,  and  was  promised  a  black  one. 
So  from  having  no  companions  at  all,  Jessie  felt 
that  she  would  be  very  well  supplied  that  win- 
ter. "  There  will  be  you  and  your  kitten,  me 
and  my  kitten,  Polly  and  Eb,"  she  said  to  Adele. 
"  That  will  be  a  great  many  of  us  to  play  to- 
gether." 

"  Yes,  and  there  will  be  Miss  Eloise  and  hor- 
rid lessons,"  returned  Adele. 

Jessie  sighed.  "  Yes,"  she  said,  "  I  have  been 
thinking  of  that.  I  wish  we  could  take  lessons 
like  pills  and  have  done  with  them." 

"  In  jelly  ?  " 

"  No,  I'd  just  gulp  them  down  with  water  and 
have  some  bread  and  jelly  afterward." 

The  children  were  in  the  sitting-room,  having 
just  returned  from  Effie's.  Mrs.  Loomis  was 
sitting  there  sewing.  She  smiled  as  she  listened 
to  what  the  children  were  saying.  "  I  think  you 


A  New  Pet  9! 

will  be  doing  just  about  as  you  say,"  she  re- 
marked. "  You  will  swallow  down  your  lessons 
in  the  morning,  and  in  the  afternoon  you  will 
have  your  bread  and  jelly  in  the  shape  of  play. 
I  don't  believe  you  will  find  the  lessons  such  a 
terrible  dose  as  you  think." 

"  Indeed,  I  hope  so,"  returned  Jessie  with  a 
sigh.  "  Come  on,  Adele ;  Peter  Pan  has  lost  his 
shadow  again  and  I  must  find  it."  This  Peter 
Pan  of  Jessie's  lost  his  shadow  much  more  fre- 
quently that  did  the  original  one,  for  the  shadow 
was  nothing  but  a  bit  of  newspaper  fastened  by 
a  piece  of  thread  and  it  was  torn  off  very  often. 

"  I'm  going  to  have  a  Peter  Pan,  too,"  Adele 
announced  triumphantly.  "  Aunt  Betty  has 
written  papa  to  bring  me  one  the  next  time  he 
comes." 

"  There  couldn't  be  two  Peter  Pans,"  said 
Jessie  in  an  annoyed  tone. 

"  There  could,  too.  I  am  sure  I  have  just  as 
much  right  to  name  my  doll  after  the  Peter  Pan 
as  you  have.  There  are  hundreds  and  hundreds 
of  George  Washingtons  in  the  world  and  lots  and 
lots  of  Grover  Clevelands." 

Jessie  could  not  deny  this,  but  she  was  not 


92  Playmate  Polly 

pleased  with  the  idea  of  there  being  another 
Peter  Pan  so  close  at  hand.  "If  you  name 
your  doll  Peter  Pan,  I'll  call  mine  something 
else,"  she  said,  and  then  she  added,  "  I  won't 
have  any  use  for  the  grotto,  of  course,  so  I  will 
just  pull  it  down." 

"I  think  you  are  horrid  mean,"  said  Adele. 
"  You  know  I  do  love  that  grotto." 

"  Well,  you  can  make  one  for  yourself,"  said 
Jessie  calmly.  "  There's  just  as  much  stuff 
for  it  on  your  side  of  the  brook  as  there  is  on 
mine." 

The  tears  rushed  to  Adele's  eyes.  "You 
know  I  couldn't.  I  should  never  know  how, 
and  besides  your  side  of  the  brook  has  a  much 
better  bank." 

"  "Well,"  said  Jessie,  unmoved,  "  there  simply 
cannot  be  two  Peter  Pans." 

Adele  snatched  up  her  hat  and  ran  from  the 
room.  Jessie,  watching  her  from  the  window 
rather  shamefacedly,  saw  her  hurrying  down 
the  hill.  She  waited  till  Adele  had  safely 
crossed  the  log,  then  she  turned  away  saying 
to  herself,  "There  couldn't  possibly  be  two 
Peter  Pans." 


CHAPTER 
A  Mystery 


CHAPTER  VI 
A  Mystery 

LIKE  most  of  their  quarrels  this  between  the 
two  little  girls  did  not  last  long,  for  the  next 
morning  Jessie  had  scarcely  finished  breakfast 
before  Adele  appeared  eager  and  smiling. 
"  Papa  came  last  night,"  she  said,  "  and  so  did 
Miss  Eloise." 

"Then  are  we  to  begin  taking  our  pills  to- 
day ?  "  asked  Jessie. 

Adele  laughed.  "No,  not  till  to-morrow. 
Aunt  Betty  and  Miss  Eloise  want  to  talk,  and 
besides  Aunt  Betty  says  Miss  Eloise  is  tired  and 
she  mustn't  begin  to  work  right  away." 

"I  thought  we  were  the  ones  who  had  to 
work,"  remarked  Jessie. 

"  Don't  you  suppose  it  is  going  to  be  just  as 
hard  for  Miss  Eloise  ? "  put  in  Mrs.  Loomis. 
''  Do  you  imagine  it  is  going  to  be  very  amusing 
to  be  shut  up  with  two  wilful  little  girls  who 
don't  like  lessons  ?  " 


96  Playmate  Polly 

"  Oh  ! "  Jessie  had  never  thought  of  this  side 
of  the  question.  She  looked  at  Adele. 

"  Oh,"  said  Adele.  Then  after  a  pause. 
"But  she  doesn't  have  to  do  it  if  she  doesn't 
want  to,  and  we  do  have  to." 

"  Do  you  think  all  persons  who  do  their 
duty  in  this  world  really  prefer  not  to  do  some 
other  thing?"  asked  Mr.  Loomis.  "Some  per- 
sons like  to  teach,  I  admit,  but  there  are  many 
who  have  to  learn  to  like  teaching  just  as  much 
as  you  will  have  to  learn  to  like  studying.  So 
don't  imagine  it  will  be  all  fun  for  Miss  Laurent. 
From  what  I  can  learn  Miss  Eloise  consented  to 
be  your  teacher  because  she  is  a  loyal  friend,  and 
as  your  Aunt  Betty,  Adele,  dreaded  the  thought 
of  having  a  stranger  in  the  house,  Miss  Eloise 
consented  to  come.  She  fortunately  has  a  gift 
for  teaching,  but  she  is  willing  to  come  to  this 
little  country  village  because  she  can  be  of  use 
to  Miss  Hallett,  and  because  she  thinks  she  can 
help  you  little  girls.  I  hope  both  of  you  will  re- 
member that,  and  that  you  will  do  nothing  to 
make  her  sorry  that  she  decided  to  come." 

This  very  serious  way  of  taking  it  made  the 
two  little  girls  feel  quite  subdued.  Adele  was 


A  Mystery  97 

first  to  recover  her  spirits.  "You  don't  know 
what  I've  got,"  she  sang  out  as  she  held  some- 
thing in  her  hand  behind  her. 

"Let  me  see,"  cried  Jessie  springing  toward 
her.  Adele  backed  away. 

"  Guess,"  she  said. 

Jessie  shook  her  head.     "  Can't." 

"  Something  papa  brought  me." 

"  Oh,  I  know ;  a  doll." 

Adele  displayed  her  new  possession.  "Yes, 
but  I  am  not  going  to  call  it  Peter  Pan,  at  least, 
not  yet  a  while,  for  it  is  smaller  than  yours.  I 
don't  say  I  never  will,  but  now  I  am  going  to 
name  it  after  papa." 

"  What  is  his  name  ?  "  asked  Jessie. 

"  James.  I  shall  call  my  doll  Jamie.  Come 
on,  let's  go  down  to  the  grotto.  I  wish  now  I 
hadn't  asked  for  a  boy  doll ;  if  it  had  been  a  girl 
one  I  could  have  called  it  Wendy  instead  of  the 
paper  one.  Do  you  know,  Jessie,  Miss  Eloise 
says  that  Peter  Pan's  house  was  in  the  tree  tops." 

"  So  it  was,"  Jessie  remembered. 

"  But  I  like  the  grotto  better,"  declared  Adele. 
'*  Aren't  you  ready  to  go  ?  " 

"  We  can't  go  yet ;  the  grass  is  too  wet.    We'l] 


98  Playmate  Polly 

have  to  wait  till  the  sun  dries  it  a  little.  We 
can  play  in  here  for  a  while." 

Jessie  had  not  been  very  enthusiastic  over  the 
new  doll  though  she  was  relieved  that  it  was  not 
exactly  like  her  own,  and  that  Adele  had  de- 
cided to  call  it  Jamie.  The  doll  wore  a  scarlet 
coat  with  tiny  brass  buttons  upon  it,  white 
trousers  and  a  little  red  cap.  He  was  quite  a 
pretty  little  fellow,  and  Jessie  admired  him, 
though  she  did  not  say  so.  When  the  sun  had 
dried  the  grass  enough  the  children  set  forth, 
Ebon  hopping  behind  them,  sometimes  taking  a 
short  flight  with  flapping  wings.  It  was  a  bright 
autumn  morning,  the  sky  very  blue  and  the  air 
pleasant. 

"  I'm  so  glad  it  isn't  raining,"  remarked  Adele, 
"  for  it  is  our  last  morning." 

"Except  Saturday.  We  shall  not  study  on 
Saturdays,  shall  we  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no,  of  course  not." 

They  had  reached  the  foot  of  the  hill,  and 
Adele  made  straight  for  the  grotto,  but  Jessie 
stopped  in  front  of  the  little  Polly  Willow. 
"  Good-morning,  Polly,"  she  said,  gently  patting 
the  rough  bark. 


A  Mystery  99 

Adele  watched  her,  and  then  said  mockingly. 
"  Good-morning,  old  Polly."  Then  she  ex- 
claimed, "  I  know  what  I'm  going  to  do ;  I'm 
going  to  have  a  house  for  my  Peter  Pan,  and  I 
am  going  to  build  it  on  Polly's  head." 

"  Indeed  you  shall  not,"  replied  Jessie.  "  She 
is  mine  and  I  shall  not  let  you.  Besides  you 
said  you  weren't  going  to  call  your  doll  Peter 
Pan." 

"I  said  I  wasn't  at  first." 

"  This  is  at  first." 

"  No,  it  was  at  first  when  I  said  that ;  now  it 
is  after  a  while." 

Jessie  turned  her  back  on  Adele  and  it  seemed 
as  if  their  last  evening's  quarrel  would  break  out 
afresh. 

"  Are  you  mad,  Jessie  ?  "  questioned  Adele. 

No  answer. 

"  Are  you,  Jessie  ?  " 

"Yes,  I  am."  The  reply  came  in  offended 
tones.  "  You  know  I  don't  like  you  to  make  fun 
of  Polly." 

"  Then  say  you  like  me  best." 

"  I  have  said  that." 

"  But  do  you  really  mean  it  ?  " 


loo  Playmate  Polly 

"Ye-es,"  rather  reluctantly.  "At  least  I  do 
when  you  don't  do  me  so  mean." 

"  I  won't  have  the  house  on  Polly's  head  then. 
I'll  take  this  high  bush."  She  set  the  scarlet- 
coated  little  figure  in  a  bush  close  by.  "He 
looks  like  some  red  flower  there,  doesn't  he  ?  I'm 
going  to  get  something  to  build  the  house  with." 

"  What  kind  of  things  ?  " 

"  Oh,  leaves  and  moss  and  things." 

"  Then  I'll  stay  here  and  get  the  grotto  in 
order,"  Jessie  decided. 

"  I'm  going  to  make  a  cradle  for  Peter  Pan," 
said  Adele  as  she  moved  off. 

Jessie  did  not  follow,  but  busied  herself  in 
sweeping  up,  with  a  bunch  of  twigs,  the  bits  of 
earth  which  had  fallen  down  over  night  upon 
the  floor  of  the  cave,  and  in  putting  the  moss 
into  place.  Ebon,  hopping  about,  regarded  her 
with  his  bright  eyes,  and  coming  nearer  tried  to 
peck  at  the  shining  piece  of  glass  which  made  the 
lake  in  the  centre  of  the  grotto.  "Go  away, 
Eb,"  cried  Jessie.  "  You  are  getting  too  fusty 
entirely."  She  shoved  him  away  with  her  elbow, 
and  he  strutted  off  dipping  his  head  and  uttering 
some  protesting  caws.  After  a  few  minutes 


A  Mystery  ion 

Jessie  had  the  grotto  in  pretty  good  order,  but 
concluded  a  few  more  pebbles  would  not  come 
amiss.  These  must  be  found  in  the  brook.  The 
water  was  very  clear,  and  in  the  shallow  parts 
one  could  easily  get  at  the  pebbles  lying  at  the 
bottom  of  the  stream.  There  was  a  scraggy  tree 
trunk  at  the  water's  edge,  and  on  this  Jessie  sat, 
holding  on  to  one  gnarly  root  while  she  reached 
over  to  get  the  pebbles.  Brown  leaves  went 
drifting  by  on  the  stream  ;  a  Bob  White  called 
from  the  grass  near  by.  Jessie  nodded  under- 
standingly  to  Playmate  Polly.  "You  like  it, 
don't  you,  Polly,  or  you  wouldn't  stay  here.  The 
idea  of  any  one's  building  a  house  on  your  head. 
I  shall  put  your  hat  on  and  then  you  will  be  able 
to  show  that  you  are  not  just  an  ordinary  tree. 
But  now  I  must  take  back  my  pebbles." 

She  gathered  up  the  little  stones  and  returned 
to  the  grotto  where  she  went  on  with  her  paving 
till  she  heard  Adele's  voice  saying:  "I  have 
some  beauty  leaves  all  red  and  yellow,  and  I 
found  some  moss,  too."  Then  an  exclama- 
tion : 

"  "Why,  where  is  my  Peter  Pan  ?  Jessie  Loomis, 
you  have  hidden  him  just  to  tease  me." 


102  Playmate  Polly 

"  'Deed  I  have  not,"  returned  Jessie.  "  I  have 
been  getting  pebbles  from,  the  brook." 

"  I  put  him  right  here  on  top  of  this  bush," 
said  Adele,  "  and  he's  gone,  so  you  must  have 
taken  him.  You  did  it  on  purpose  just  because 
you  didn't  want  me  to  have  a  Peter  Pan." 

"I  did  not,"  returned  Jessie  indignantly. 
"  He  could  easily  have  fallen  off.  Look  all 
around,  in  the  grass  and  the  leaves." 

"  Has  Mrs.  Mooky  been  here  ?  "  asked  Adele. 
"  You  know  that  story  of  the  little  Tom  Thumb 
that  the  cow  was  going  to  eat." 

"  I  believe  Mrs.  Mooky  was  somewhere  about," 
Jessie  told  her.  •'  No,"  she  remembered,  "  it 
wasn't  near  here  that  I  saw  her ;  it  was  on  the 
other  side  of  the  fence  in  the  pasture." 

Adele  began  to  hunt  around  diligently,  Jessie 
joining  in  the  search,  but  no  lost  doll  was  to  be 
found.  Once  a  bunch  of  scarlet  berries  on  a 
bush  deceived  them  into  thinking  that  by  some 
mysterious  means  the  doll  had  been  spirited 
away.  "  For  you  know  he  could  fly,"  said  Adele. 

At  last  they  were  obliged  to  give  up  looking, 
and  Adele  went  home  quite  convinced  that  Jessie 
knew  where  the  doll  was  hidden,  and  Jessie,  in 


A  Mystery  103 

her  turn  went  off  up  the  hill  toward  the  house, 
hurt  and  distressed  to  think  that  Adele  should 
not  have  believed  her. 

She  went  back  after  dinner  to  renew  the 
search,  and  became  satisfied  after  a  long  hunt 
that  Adele  had  mistaken  the  bush  and  that  she 
had  put  it  somewhere  else.  A  hollow  stump  in 
the  neighborhood  seemed  the  most  likely  place, 
but  though  she  managed  to  climb  up  where 
she  could  peep  into  the  hollow,  it  was  all  dark 
within  and  a  stick  poked  in  did  nothing  more 
than  scare  a  chipmunk  nearly  out  of  his  wits, 
so  that  presently  he  came  out  chattering  and 
bristling  with  rage  and  fear.  Jessie  went  home 
and  told  her  mother  all  about  it,  and  after  Mrs. 
Loomis  had  gone  with  her  to  see  what  she  could 
do,  they  both  concluded  that  the  doll  must  have 
fallen  far  down  into  this  same  hollow  stump, 
and  that  it  could  not  be  found  unless  the  stump 
were  grubbed  up. 

"  Do  you  think  I  ought  to  give  her  my  Peter 
Pan  ?  "  Jessie  asked  hesitatingly.  "  I  like  him 
best  of  all  my  dolls  except  Charity." 

"  No,  I  don't  think  you  need  do  that,"  her 
mother  told  her,  "  but  when  I  go  to  town  I  will 


104  Playmate  Polly 

try  to  find  one  that  you  can  give  her  to  replace 
this." 

"May  I  tell  her  so?" 

"Yes,  if  you  like.  I  think  if  you  do  it  will 
convince  her  that  you  spoke  the  truth." 

"  She  ought  to  have  believed  ine  anyhow." 

"Circumstances  were  against  you,  my  dear. 
I  know  it  is  very  hard  to  be  suspected,  but  there 
was  some  reason  for  Adele's  doing  so,  and  I  am, 
sure  she  will  be  satisfied  when  you  tell  her  she 
is  to  have  another  doll." 

"  May  I  go  over  now  and  tell  her  ?  " 

"  Yes,  if  you  won't  stay  too  long." 

Jessie  set  off  toward  the  brook.  She  did  not 
fail  to  search  for  the  doll  as  she  went,  but  she 
stopped  to  lay  her  hand  upon  Playmate  Polly 
and  to  say :  "  You  would  have  believed  me, 
Polly.  You  always  do  believe  me,  and  I  don't 
think  I  shall  ever  tell  Adele  again  that  I  Uke 
her  best." 

Playmate  Polly  made  no  answer,  but  the 
murmuring  brook  sang  a  little  song  that  Jessie 
liked  and  the  whispering  trees  seemed  to  say : 
"  "We  know,  we  know."  The  same  little  chip- 
munk was  sitting  on  his  haunches  on  top  of  the 


A  Mystery  105 

hollow  stamp.  He  chattered  fiercely  as  he  saw 
Jessie,  and  leaping  into  the  nearest  pine  tree 
went  whisking  off.  Jessie  was  not  sure  but  she 
liked  her  favorite  playground  better  without  the 
presence  of  Adele,  and  she  almost  wished  the 
yellow  house  were  still  empty.  It  seemed  as  if 
she  and  Adele  were  continually  at  odds,  and 
though  Adele  professed  to  care  very  much  for 
her,  she  didn't  see  how  it  were  possible  when 
she  doubted  her  word. 

She  went  rather  slowly  through  the  piece  of 
woods  and  through  the  orchard  which  lay  on  the 
other  side  of  the  brook.  She  realized  that  now 
she  would  meet  Miss  Eloise,  and  though  she 
wanted  much  to  see  what  manner  of  person  she 
was,  she  rather  dreaded  the  meeting,  and  be- 
sides she  really  did  not  feel  in  a  very  friendly 
mood  toward  Adele  just  then,  only  she  could  not 
have  her  go  on  believing  untrue  things.  At 
last  she  came  out  close  to  the  garden  fence. 
She  stood  still  for  a  moment  before  she  opened 
the  gate  and  went  through.  There  was  no  one 
about,  but  she  heard  voices  from  the  front 
porch,  and  as  she  turned  the  corner  of  the 
house  she  saw  that  there  A\rere  four  persons  on 


106  Playmate  Polly 

the  porch,  Miss  Betty,  a  strange  lady  with  fair 
hair  who  must  be  Miss  Eloise,  a  man  who  was 
probably  Adele's  father,  and  Adele  herself. 
Jessie  paused  where  she  stood  but  Adele  had 
heard  the  click  of  the  gate  and  had  caught  sight 
of  the  visitor. 

"  There  she  is  now,"  cried  Adele.  "  Have  you 
found  him,  Jessie  ?  Have  you  found  him  ?  " 

Jessie  came  slowly  forward.  "No,"  she 
said  shyly.  "Mother  helped  me  to  look.  We 
think  he  must  have  fallen  down  into  a  hollow 
stump  and  has  gone  way  down  inside,  but  mother 
says  she  is  going  to  town  very  soon  and  she  will 
get  you  another  doll  just  like  it." 

Miss  Betty  was  listening.  "  Indeed  she  must 
not  do  that,  Jessie,"  she  said.  "  A  little  cheap 
doll  like  that  is  no  loss,  besides  it  was  not  you 
who  lost  it,  but  Adele,  and  her  father  can 
easily  get  another  Vhen  he  goes  back  to  the 
city." 

"  But,"  Jessie  hesitated,  then  she  turned  to  Miss 
Betty.  "  I  want  mother  to  get  it  so  Adele  will 
believe  I  spoke  the  truth,  that  I  don't  tell  stories." 
Jessie  held  her  head  high. 

Miss  Betty  looked  at  Adele.     "  Why,  honey," 


A  Mystery  107 

she  said,  "  I  am  sure  you  never  told  Jessie  that 
she  wasn't  truthful." 

Adele  nodded.  "  Hm,  hra,  I  did,  because  I 
thought  she  might  have  hidden  the  doll  to  tease 
me  and  because  she  didn't  want  me  to  have  a 
Peter  Pan." 

"  But  she  has  proved  that  she  does  want  you 
to  have  one  by  asking  her  mother  to  replace  the 
one  that  is  lost,  and  besides,  you  told  me  that  you 
were  the  last  one  that  had  the  doll." 

Adele  rushed  at  Jessie  and  flung  her  arms 
around  her.  "  Wasn't  I  horrid  ?  "  she  said.  "  I'll 
believe  every  word  you  say  after  this.  I  suppose 
you  will  say,"  she  whispered,  "  that  Polly  always 
has  believed  you." 

"  Yes,"  Jessie  nodded,  "  she  certainly  does." 

"  I  don't  care,"  returned  Adele  defiantly.  "  I 
believe  after  all  that  she  is  a  thief,  and  that  she 
stole  ray  doll." 

"  What  are  you  talking  about  ?  "  asked  Miss 
Betty.  "  You  both  look  as  fierce  as  turke}^-cocks." 

"  I'm  talking  about  that  old  Polly,"  answered 
Adele. 

"  You  absurd  children  1 "  said  Miss  Betty  laugh- 
ing. "  Come,  Jessie,  don't  you  want  to  meet  your 


io8  Playmate  Polly 

teacher?  She  is  very  anxious  to  meet  you. 
Eloise,  dear,  this  is  your  other  little  pupil." 

Jessie  was  conscious  of  a  pair  of  gray  eyes  that 
looked  at  her  very  steadily  but  very  kindly,  and 
of  two  warm  hands  that  held  hers,  but  she  was 
overcome  with  shyness  and  said  not  a  word. 

"  Do  you  think  you  are  going  to  like  her  more 
than  you  do  me  ?  "  Adele  asked  Miss  Eloise  anx- 
iously. 

"You  jealous  little  monkey,"  said  her  aunt. 
"  Why  shouldn't  she  like  Jessie  best  ?  Don't  you 
want  her  to  ?  " 

"  I  want  her  to  like  us  both  alike,"  replied 
Adele. 

"  A  perfectly  safe  reply,"  said  Miss  Eloise.  "  I 
nope  I  have  a  place  in  my  heart  big  enough  for 
both  of  you,  my  dears." 

"This  is  papa,"  said  Adele  swinging  Jessie 
around  in  front  of  Mr.  Hallett,  who  held  out  his 
hand. 

"  I  hope  you  and  this  will-o'-the-wisp  of  ours 
will  be  good  friends,"  he  said  to  Jessie.  "  She 
needs  some  one  to  tone  her  down  a  little,  and 
keep  her  from  having  tantrums."  He  softly  pat- 
ted Adele's  hand  as  he  spoke. 


A  Mystery  109 

"  Jessie  has  tantrums,  too,"  spoke  up  Adele, 
"  but  they  are  pouty  ones,  not  screamy  like  mine." 

Jessie  blushed  and  felt  greatly  embarrassed. 
She  wished  Adele  were  not  quite  so  outspoken. 

"  Never  mind,  dear,"  said  Miss  Eloise  leaning 
over  and  putting  her  arm  around  Jessie.  "  If  we 
don't  all  have  tantrums  we  all  feel  like  it  some' 
times,  and  when  we  were  little  girls  very  few  of 
us  did  not  have  them.  "We  generally  outgrew 
them,  or  learned  self-control,  and  that  is  what 
you  and  Adele  will  do." 

Jessie  looked  up  gratefully  and  from  that  mo- 
ment liked  Miss  Eloise. 

So  soon  did  this  lady  put  her  at  her  ease  that 
in  a  few  minutes  she  found  herself  talking  quite 
glibly  about  her  home,  her  pets,  and  her  reasons 
for  leaving  school,  realizing  that  she  would  not 
in  the  least  mind  having  lessons  the  next  day. 
But  presently  she  remembered  that  she  was  not 
to  stay  too  long,  so  she  took  her  leave,  Adele 
calling  after  her :  "  Remember,  you  are  not  to 
get  another  doll.  I  won't  let  you,  and  I'd  rather 
have  a  Wendy  anyhow." 


CHAPTER  VII 

Taking  Pills 


CHAPTER  VII 

Taking  Fills 

IT  was  with  rather  mixed  feelings  that  Jessie 
set  out  the  next  morning  to  begin  lessons  with 
Miss  Eloise.  She  didn't  enjoy  the  idea  of  study- 
ing, but  she  did  like  Miss  Eloise  and  it  would  be 
quite  a  novelty  to  have  but  one  other  schoolmate. 
She  felt  rather  important,  too,  from  the  fact  that 
she  was  to  begin  French  and  music.  This  last 
thought  gave  confidence  to  her  step  and  bright- 
ness to  her  face  when  she  appeared  on  the  porch 
of  the  yellow  house. 

Adele  danced  out  to  meet  her.  "We're  all 
ready,"  she  said.  "  Miss  Eloise  and  I  have  been 
fixing  up  the  schoolroom,  and  we  have  put  flow- 
ers in  there  so  it  looks  very  nice.  We  are  to 
have  a  table  between  us,  you  and  I.  You  shall 
choose  which  end  you  like  best  and  I  will  take 
the  other.  Elle  est  ici,  mademoiselle,"  she  called 
out  when  they  reached  the  top  of  the  stairs,  and 


114  Playmate  Polly 

Jessie  suddenly  remembered  that  Adele  knew 
French  almost  as  well  as  English,  and  she  felt 
herself  very  ignorant. 

However,  Miss  Eloise  gave  her  such  a  cordial 
greeting,  and  the  schoolroom  was  so  bright  and 
cheery  that  she  soon  forgot  everything  but  her 
interest  in  choosing  which  end  of  the  table  she 
preferred,  and  in  looking  at  the  books  Miss 
Eloise  had  piled  up.  They  were  all  fresh  and 
new  and  Jessie  liked  new  books.  "  I  don't  know 
a  word  of  French,"  she  said  when  she  had 
seated  herself. 

"  You  need  not  say  that  very  long,"  said  Miss 
Eloise. 

"She  need  not  say  it  five  minutes  from  now," 
put  in  Adele.  "  She  can  begin  with  Bon  jour, 
can't  she,  Miss  Eloise?  Say  Bon  jour,  Jessie." 

Jessie  obediently  repeated  the  words. 

"  Now  you  can  say  good-day,"  Adele  told  her, 
'and  you  can't  say  any  more  that  you  don't 
know  a  word  of  French."  Then  she  turned  to 
Miss  Eloise  and  chatted  away  volubly  for  a 
minute  or  two  while  Jessie  listened  and  won- 
dered if  she  would  ever  be  so  glib  with  a  foreign 
tongue. 


Taking  Pills  115 

"  I  think  I  will  make  a  rule  that  you  are  to 
speak  to  each  other  only  in  French  during  lesson 
hours,"  said  Miss  Eloise.  "That  will  give  you 
both  a  chance  and  Jessie  will  be  surprised  how 
soon  she  will  be  able  to  understand  and  speak  a 
number  of  words.  Now  we  will  start  in  with 
something  else.  Come  here,  Jessie,  and  show  me 
how  far  you  have  gone  in  arithmetic  and  how 
well  you  can  spell." 

It  turned  out  that  Jessie  was  far  ahead  of 
Adele  in  these  studies,  but  that  the  latter  knew 
more  history  and  had  a  smattering  of  a  number 
of  other  things  which  Jessie  knew  nothing  about. 
But  after  a  while  Miss  Eloise  managed  to  ar- 
range classes  for  them,  dropping  some  of  Adele's 
studies,  which  did  not  seem  necessary  for  the 
present,  and  adding  some  to  Jessie's  list.  But 
they  had  hardly  settled  down  to  real  work  be- 
fore it  was  time  for  a  morsel  of  lunch  and  a  fif- 
teen minutes'  run  out-of-doors. 

"  I  don't  think  those  were  very  bad  pills  to 
take,"  said  Jessie  as  the  two  sat  munching  their 
apples  on  the  porch  steps. 

"  They  will  be  worse  after  a  while,  I  suppose," 
said  Adele.  "  Wait  till  you  have  to  sit  at  the 


1 16  Playmate  Polly 

piano  and  practice  stupid  exercises  half  an  hour 
at  a  time.  You  won't  like  that  one  bit." 

"  I  suppose  not,"  returned  Jessie  with  a 
sigh.  "  But  you  don't  have  to  do  that  all  the 
time,  do  you?  You  will  have  pieces  after  a 
while." 

"  Oh,  after  a  fashion,  but  they  are  not  what  I 
call  tunes,"  she  said  scornfully. 

This  sounded  very  discouraging,  but  Jessie 
was  not  going  to  give  up  hope.  "  Maybe  some 
teachers  do  that  way,"  she  said,  "  but  I  don't  be- 
lieve Miss  Eloise  will." 

"  Wait  and  see,"  returned  Adele  with  a  wise 
shake  of  the  head. 

The  tinkle  of  a  little  bell  took  them  indoors  to 
lessons  again,  and  the  next  hour  or  two  passed 
quickly,  and  to  Jessie's  surprise  very  pleasantly. 
"  It  is  much  nicer  than  going  to  the  Hill  School," 
she  told  her  mother.  "  I  know  a  whole  lot  of 
French  and  some  of  my  notes  on  the  piano. 
"When  I  know  them  all  am  I  going  to  have  a 
piano,  mother?" 

"  Not  at  present,"  Mrs.  Loomis  told  her.  "  You 
are  to  practice  on  Adele's  piano  for  a  while. 
Pianos  are  rather  expensive  things  and  we  shall 


Taking  Pills  117 

have  to  save  up  a  lot  of  eggs  and  butter  before 
we  can  buy  one." 

"  Adele  is  richer  than  I  am,  isn't  she,  mother  ?  " 

"In  some  things,  perhaps,  but  she  has  no 
mother  nor  brothers." 

Jessie  threw  her  arms  around  her  mother's 
neck  and  gave  her  a  mighty  hug.  "And  you 
are  worth  all  the  money  in  the  world,"  she  said. 
"  My  two  brothers  are  pretty  far  away,  but  I  do 
see  them  sometimes,  and  that's  much  better  than 
not  having  any  at  all.  Yes,  I  believe  I  am  much 
richer  than  Adele.  She  hasn't  any  pets  either. 
Where  is  Eb,  mother  ?  " 

"Oh,  my  dear,  I  don't  know.  He  is  out-of- 
doors  somewhere.  We  cannot  have  him  in  the 
house  very  often,  for  he  gets  into  so  much  mis- 
chief." 

Jessie  went  out  to  find  Eb,  but  not  seeing  him 
near,  she  concluded  to  go  to  Playmate  Polly  and 
tell  her  all  about  her  morning  at  the  yellow 
house,  for  Polly  was  always  a  good  listener.  It 
was  rather  pleasant,  too,  to  feel  free  to  do  exactly 
as  she  liked  after  the  restriction  of  a  morning  in 
the  schoolroom. 

She  was  sitting  on  a  big  rock  talking  quietly 


ii8  Playmate  Polly 

in  an  undertone  to  Polly,  when  with  a  whoop  and 
a  hallo  two  boys  came  vaulting  over  the  fence 
and  rushed  toward  her.  For  a  moment  Jessie 
was  so  startled  that  she  could  give  only  little 
shrieks,  but  these  soon  changed  to  a  squeal  of 
delight  when  she  discovered  the  two  intruders 
to  be  her  brothers,  Max  and  Walter.  "  Oh ! 
oh ! "  she  cried.  "  Where  did  you  come  from, 
and  how  do  you  happen  to  be  home  to- 
day ?  " 

"  Why,  it  is  just  a  piece  of  luck  for  us,"  said 
Max  catching  her  up  and  kissing  her.  "  One  of 
the  boys,  Carl  Potter,  is  ill  with  something,  the 
doctor  doesn't  know  just  what  yet,  and  so  he 
thought  we  boys  had  better  come  home  for  a 
few  days  till  he  finds  out  whether  it  is  diph- 
theria or  not.  Of  course  I  don't  mean  it  is  luck 
for  old  Carl,  but  it  gives  us  a  holiday." 

"I  hope  it  isn't  diphtheria,"  said  Jessie  sym- 
pathetically, "  though  it  is  nice  to  have  you  home  ; 
it  does  seem  so  quiet  without  you.  I  have  a 
thousand  things  to  tell  you." 

"  Fire  away,"  said  Max. 

"  Well,  I  don't  go  to  the  Hill  School  any  more, 
but  I  have  lessons  with  Adele — she  lives  in  the 


Taking  Pills  119 

yellow  house,  you  know.     I  know  some  French 
Ifonjour,  monsieur.     Comme  portez  vous  f  " 

"  Pshaw  !  "  interrupted  "Walter.  "  I  can  beat 
that  with  Latin." 

"  Let's  hear  you,"  said  Jessie. 

"  Stop  your  fooling,"  put  in  Max.  "  Don't  be 
such  a  blower,  Walter.  I  know  just  about  how 
much  Latin  you  know.  Never  mind  him,  Jess, 
go  on." 

"  I  have  begun  music,  too,"  Jessie  turned  to  her 
elder  brother,  "  and  some  day  I  shall  have  a  piano 
when  mother  can  save  enough  butter  and  eggs  to 
get  me  one." 

"  That  will  be  fine,"  said  Max  encouragingly. 

"  Then  you  don't  see  old  Ezra  any  more,"  said 
Walter,  "and  can't  tell  us  anything  about  the 
trains  and  the  engines." 

"  No."  Jessie  shook  her  head.  "  I  haven't 
been  to  see  him.  He  had  rheumatism,  and  I 
fell  on  the  track  one  day ;  that's  why  I  stopped 
going  to  school.  There  is  a  cross  man  in  Ezra's 
place  and  I  don't  like  him." 

"  I  say,  that's  too  bad,"  said  Max.  "  Old  Ezra 
is  always  so  good-natured  about  letting  you  flag 
trains  and  things." 


» io  Playmate  Polly 

"  I've  got  a  crow,"  suddenly  exclaimed  Jessie, 
"  and  his  name  is  Eb.  That's  short  for  Ebony. 
He  doesn't  talk  yet,  but  he  is  going  to,  Sam  says. 
I  think  he  must  be  up  in  the  barn.  Come,  and 
I'll  show  him  to  you.  I  have  a  new  friend,  too. 
Her  name  is  Adele  Pauline  Falaise  Hallett,  and 
she  lives  in  the  yellow  house." 

"Mother  wrote  to  us  that  the  yellow  house 
was  taken,"  said  "Walter.  "  I'm  sorry,  for  now 
we  fellows  can't  go  there  and  play  in  that  empty 
barn  like  we  used  to." 

"  I  thought  Effie  Hinsdale  was  your  best 
friend,"  said  Max  to  his  sister. 

"Effie  is  a  friend,  of  course,  but  she  lives  across 
the  railroad,  and  I  can't  go  to  see  her  unless 
some  one  goes  with  me.  Besides,  she  has  a  new 
friend,  too ;  a  girl  named  Anna  Sharp  that  has 
come  to  the  neighborhood,  so  Effie  don't  mind 
being  second  best.  She  has  a  gray  kitten  that  is 
to  be  mine  when  it  is  big  enough." 

"Girls  are  always  so  crazy  about  cats  and 
kittens,"  said  Walter  scornfully.  "I'd  much 
rather  have  the  crow." 

"  Well,  you  can't  have  him.  Sam  brought  him 
to  me,"  returned  Jessie  a  little  sharply.  Boys 


Taking  Pills  121 

were  entirely  too  fond  of  making  slighting  re- 
marks about  girls,  she  thought. 

"  Ob,  keep  your  old  crow,"  returned  Walter. 
"  No  doubt  you'll  be  glad  enough  to  get  rid  of 
him  some  day." 

"  Why  ?  "  asked  Jessie. 

"  Wait  and  see,"  replied  Walter  mysteriously. 
"  Say,  Max,  let's  go  see  old  Ezra.  Maybe  he  is 
all  right  now,  and  I  want  to  know  about  the 
trains.  We'll  see  enough  of  the  old  crow,  and 
it  is  a  good  time  to  go  to  Ezra's." 

"  I  want  to  go,  too,"  said  Jessie. 

"  Well,  you  can't,"  returned  Walter.  "  We 
don't  want  girls  tagging  everywhere  we  go." 

"  Oh,  let  her  come,"  put  in  Max.  "  You  might 
be  a  little  more  decent  to  her  the  first  day  you 
get  home.  You  can  come,  Jess."  Max  was  the 
eldest  and  Walter  generally  accepted  his  lead, 
so  Jessie  put  her  hand  confidingly  in  her  big 
brothers  and  they  set  out.  She  thought  Walter 
was  very  disagreeable  to  speak  to  her  as  he  did 
when  he  had  been  separated  from  her  all  these 
weeks,  and  she  took  pains  not  to  address  a  word 
to  him  on  the  way.  She  chatted  to  Max,  how- 
ever talking  of  the  things  she  knew  would  in- 


122  Playmate  Polly 

terest  him :  the  change  in  the  schedule,  how  589 
was  very  late  one  day,  and  how  she  had  flagged 
a  train  one  afternoon,  how  248  had  a  hot  box 
one  morning  so  it  had  to  stop  on  a  siding.  When 
Walter  put  eager  questions  to  her  she  simply 
gave  him  a  dignified  stare  and  went  on  talking 
to  Max.  Her  triumph  was  complete  when  they 
arrived  at  the  crossing  to  find  that  Ezra  was 
back  again  at  his  post  and  that  his  best  greeting 
was  for  the  little  girl. 

"  Well,  well,  well,"  he  exclaimed,  "  here  you 
are  at  last.  I  certainly  have  missed  you,  little 
girl.  Not  going  to  school  any  more  ?  I  was 
afraid  you  might  be  sick.  Been  watching  for 
ye  every  day  since  I  got  over  my  rheumatiz. 
When  you  going  to  start  again  ?  Hallo,  boys." 
He  gave  a  nod  to  each,  but  it  was  plain  to  see 
that  it  was  Jessie  who  had  the  warmest  welcome. 

"I've  stopped  going  to  school,"  Jessie  told 
him.  "You  weren't  here,  you  know,  Ezra,  so 
father  and  mother  were  afraid  to  have  me  cross 
the  track.*  I  tripped  and  fell  one  day  when  the 
train  was  coming." 

"  Pshaw  !  "  exclaimed  Ezra.  "  Sykes  never 
told  me  of  that.  I  was  in  such  misery  I  couldn't 


Taking  Fills  123 

think  about  much  else  but  my  pains  for  a  while. 
You  don't  say  you  ain't  going  back  at  all  ?  " 

"  Not  this  winter,"  Jessie  told  him.  "  I  am 
studying  with  Adele  Hallett  at  the  yellow 
house." 

"They're  new  folks,  ain't  they?  Well,  I  cer- 
tainly am  sorry  to  lose  the  sight  of  ye  every  day. 
It  is  too  bad  Sykes  had  to  take  my  place  or  ye 
might  be  mounting  the  hill  every  morning  just 
the  same  as  usual.  Father  kne\v  I'd  look  out  for 
ye,  didn't  he  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes.  He  said  as  long  as  you  were  there 
he  didn't  have  any  fear,  even  if  the  trains  were 
changed.  But  after  I  fell  that  day  when  the 
train  was  coming,  mother  said  she  would  never 
feel  easy  again." 

"  Too  bad,  too  bad.  I  am  sorry."  Ezra  took 
off  his  cap  and  wiped  his  bald  head  with  a  red 
handkerchief.  He  was  a  little  wrinkled-faced 
old  man  with  mild  blue  eyes.  He  wore  a  little 
fringe  of  beard  under  his  chin,  and  his  pleasant 
mouth  always  widened  to  a  smile  for  his  friends. 
"  Eight  warm  day  for  October,  ain't  it  ?  "  he  said 
pulling  up  his  stool  which  stood  by  the  door  of 
the  little  house.  "  Wish  I  had  more  chairs  to 


124  Playmate  Polly 

offer  ye.  Guess  ladies  will  have  to  come  first." 
He  waved  Jessie  to  the  stool. 

"  Oh,  no."  Jessie  refused  the  proffered  seat. 
"  We'd  rather  you'd  sit  there,  Ezra.  The  boys 
and  I  can  do  just  as  well  with  these  railroad  ties 
that  are  piled  up  here.  Has  589  gone  by  yet  ?  " 

Ezra  took  out  his  watch.  "  She's  due  in  just 
five  minutes.  I  thought  I  heard  her  whistling 
for  Boyds  a  while  ago.  She's  on  time  to-day." 

"  May  I  hold  the  flag  ? "  said  Jessie  eagerly. 
"  It  has  been  such  a  long  time  since  I  did." 

"To  be  sure  ye  may,"  returned  Ezra,  taking 
the  flag  from  where  it  stood  leaning  against  the 
door.  "  Yes,  I  thought  so ;  she's  whistling  for 
the  cut." 

So  far  Jessie  had  monopolized  the  conversation 
and  now  Walter  spoke  up.  "  Have  they  put  on 
any  new  engines,  Ezra  ?  " 

He  shook  his  head.  "  No,  Leander  still  runs 
old  61  and  keeps  her  shining." 

"  Any  accidents  ?  "  asked  Max. 

"  Glad  to  say  ther  hain't.  Come  near  being  one 
down  by  Millersville  the  other  day." 

"  Tell  us  about  it." 

"  Have  to  wait  till  589  has  went  by.    Here, 


Taking  Pills  125 

honey,"  he  turned  to  Jessie.  "  Get  up  and  be  all 
ready.  She'll  whistle  in  a  minute  for  our 
crossing." 

Jessie  took  her  place  on  the  stool  set  for  her, 
flag  in  hand,  Ezra  standing  close  by,  and  pres- 
ently there  was  a  shrill  whistle  and  next  the 
train  flew  by. 

"  It  is  so  exciting,"  said  Jessie  turning  a  beam- 
ing face  to  her  brothers. 

"  Humph ! "  exclaimed  Walter  in  rather  a  dis- 
satisfied way.  He  did  not  like  it  that  Jessie 
should  be  having  all  the  fun.  "  What  about  the 
accident  ?  "  he  said  turning  to  Ezra. 

"  There  wasn't  none." 

"  Well,  I  mean  the  one  that  nearly  was." 

Ezra  launched  forth  into  an  account  of  how 
the  freight  train  from  the  west  was  on  the  track 
and  a  special  was  behind  her.  Somehow  Bill 
Downs  didn't  get  the  orders  clear  and  backed 
into  a  siding  just  in  time  to  avoid  a  crash.  "  Ee- 
versed,  sir,"  said  Ezra.  "  Heard  the  special 
whistle  at  the  cut  and  put  on  steam  so  he  reached 
the  siding  in  time  to  back.  If  he'd  been  a  second 
later  all  would  have  been  up." 

The  children  listened  attentively.     Bill  Downs 


126  Playmate  Polly 

was  a  familiar  figure  to  them,  and  his  engine  an 
old  acquaintance,  so  his  escape  was  of  momentous 
interest. 

After  a  little  more  railroad  gossip  the  boys 
concluded  it  was  time  to  return,  as  the  sun  was 
setting  and  the  short  afternoon  was  nearly  over. 
"Come  again,  come  again,"  said  Ezra,  his  eyes 
on  Jessie  who  waved  her  hand  to  him  till  a  turn 
in  the  road  hid  him  from  sight. 

"I  wish  I  had  taken  him  some  apples,"  she 
said.  "  His  trees  have  hardly  any  on  them  this 
year,  and  he  is  so  fond  of  them." 

"We'll  take  some  to  him  to-morrow,"  said 
Walter  importantly.  "  You  needn't  bother." 

"  I  thought  of  it  first,"  said  Jessie,  not  liking 
to  have  her  ideas  taken  possession  of  in  this 
style. 

"  That  makes  no  difference,"  returned  Walter. 
"  The  few  you  could  carry  wouldn't  do  much 
good.  Max  and  I  can  take  a  big  basketful." 

Jessie  did  not  answer,  but  she  determined  to 
carry  out  her  plan  if  she  could.  If  going  away 
to  school  made  Walter  like  this  she  didn't  think 
it  was  doing  him  much  good.  The  boys  left  her 
at  the  first  gate  for  they  caught  sight  of  their 


Taking  Fills  127 

father  in  a  field  near  by,  and  joined  him,  so  Jessie 
went  up  to  the  house  alone.  She  sought  her 
mother  immediately.  "Mother,"  she  said,  "I 
wish  you  would  send  Walter  to  another  school." 

"  Why,  my  dear,"  returned  Mrs.  Loomis,  look- 
ing up  with  a  smile. 

"  Because  he's  so — so — he  has  such  a  con- 
temptibleness  for  girls  since  he's  been  away.  He 
used  not  to  care  when  I  wanted  to  go  with  him 
and  Max,  and  now  he  is  at  home  again  he  just 
wants  to  put  me  down  all  the  time.  I  said  I 
wanted  to  take  some  apples  to  Ezra,  and  he  says 
he  is  going  to.  I  thought  of  it  first,  mother,  and 
Ezra  has  been  so  good  to  me.  Couldn't  you  let 
Sam  go  with  me  to-morrow  morning,  and  carry 
a  big  basketful,  bigger  than  Walter  and  Max 
could  carry  ?  " 

Mrs.  Loomis  was  thoughtful  for  a  moment. 
She  realized  that  Walter  had  no  right  to  set  aside 
Jessie's  little  plan,  so  she  said,  "  I  am  afraid 
Sam  cannot  be  spared,  but  I  will  tell  you  what 
can  be  done.  I  have  to  go  to  Mrs.  Traill's  to- 
morrow morning,  and  you  could  go  as  far  as  the 
crossing  with  me.  We  can  carry  a  big  basket  of 
apples  in  the  phaeton  and  leave  them  for  Ezra, 


128  Playmate  Potty 

then  you  can  go  on  to  your  lessons  from 
there." 

"  Oh,  lovely ! "  cried  Jessie.  "  You  al \vays  do 
think  of  just  the  right  thing,  mother.  Will  you 
tell  Walter  we  are  going  to  take  the  apples  ?  " 

"  Yes,  and  I  think  it  is  right  that  you  should 
be  the  one  to  go  with  them,  for  we  appreciate 
very  much  his  kindness  to  you." 

No  more  was  said  then,  but  at  the  supper  table 
Mrs.  Looinis  told  her  husband  what  had  been  ar- 
ranged and  asked  him  to  select  a  lot  of  their 
finest  apples  for  the  basket.  Jessie  gave  Walter 
a  triumphant  look  across  the  table.  He  answered 
by  making  a  mouth  at  her,  but  she  did  not  care 
as  she  had  her  mother  on  her  side. 

"  Sneaky  thing,"  whispered  Walter  as  she  passed 
him  after  supper. 

"Sneaky  yourself,"  returned  Jessie.  "I  told 
mother  how  horrid  you  were." 

"  Tattletale,"  returned  Walter.  "  Just  like  a 
girl." 

This  time  Jessie  had  no  words  except  the  ex- 
pressive exclamation  "  Pff  !  "  given  with  a  most 
contemptuous  toss  of  the  head. 


CHAPTER  VIL 
Dapple  Gra$ 


CHAPTER  VIII 

Dapple  Gray 

THE  rest  of  the  time  that  the  boys  were  at 
home  Jessie  did  not  see  much  of  them.  She  found 
so  many  things  to  interest  her  at  the  yellow 
house,  that  she  enjoyed  the  novelty  of  it,  and 
moreover,  when  she  was  there  she  was  free  from 
Walter's  teasing,  so  she  spent  most  of  her  time 
with  Adele,  to  the  latter's  delight. 

The  afternoon  of  the  day  when  the  apples  were 
taken  to  Ezra,  the  two  little  girls  sought  their 
playground  by  the  brook,  but  Max  and  Walter 
discovered  them,  and  as  they  did  not  want  their 
secrets  known,  they  quickly  covered  up  the 
grotto  and  beat  a  hasty  retreat  across  the  brook. 
"  I  don't  mind  Max  so  much,"  Jessie  explained, 
"though  even  he  teases  sometimes,  but  Walter 
is  such  a  worry  when  he  sets  out  to  be,  and  if  he 
knew  about  Playmate  Polly  and  Peter  Pan's 
grotto  he  would  be  sure  to  do  something  to  them 
just  to  pay  me  back  for  taking  the  apples.  So 


132  Playmate  Potty 

we  will  play  in  your  garden  or  the  summer-house. 
I  will  take  Charity  and  you  can  get  one  of  your 
dolls." 

"  The  back  porch  is  a  good  place,"  returned 
Adele.  "I  am  sorry  your  brothers  aren't  nice 
and  I  am  glad  I  haven't  any." 

"  But  they  are  nice,"  returned  Jessie  on  the  de- 
fensive. "They  are  very  nice.  All  boys  tease 
and  Max  was  lovely  the  other  day  when  I  wanted 
to  go  with  them.  He  is  older  than  Walter.  I 
suppose  that  is  the  reason.  Since  "Walter  has 
been  going  to  boarding-school  he  thinks  himself 
so  smart." 

The  two  little  girls  trudged  up  the  hill  toward 
the  yellow  house  and  as  they  entered  the  garden 
they  heard  some  one  calling,  "  Adele !  Adele ! 
where  are  you  ?  " 

"  That's  Aunt  Betty,"  said  Adele.  "  I  wonder 
what  she  wants." 

"  Let's  go  see,"  returned  Jessie. 

They  ran  around  the  corner  of  the  house. 
Miss  Betty  and  Miss  Eloise  were  both  on  the 
front  porch.  By  the  steps  was  standing  a  little 
gray  pony  harnessed  to  a  small  pony  cart.  "  Oh, 
dear,  company,  I  suppose,"  said  Adele  disgustedly. 


Dapple  Gray  133 

"  I  wish  we'd  stayed  away.  I  suppose  now  I  shall 
have  to  be  kissed  and  called  a  sweet  child." 

"  I  wonder  who  it  is,"  said  Jessie  more  curious. 
"  That  turnout  does  not  belong  to  any  one  around 
here.  I  know  just  what  every  one  drives.  Effie 
Hinsdale's  mother  has  a  white  horse  ;  the  minis- 
ter's wife  drives  a  sorrel ;  Mrs.  Traill  has  two 
black  horses  and» " 

But  she  went  no  further  for  Miss  Betty  had 
seen  the  two  children  and  was  calling  out,  "  Come 
here,  dears,  such  a  lovely  surprise  for  you ! 
Whose  do  you  think  that  is,  Adele  ?  " 

"  I'm  sure  I  don't  know.  It  isn't  the  cousins 
from  the  city,  is  it,  Aunt  Bet  ?  "  said  Adele. 

"  No."  Miss  Betty  shook  her  head.  "  It  be- 
longs to  the  cousin  of  the  cousins  from  the  city." 

Adele  looked  bewildered.     "  Who  is  that  ?  " 

Miss  Betty  laughed.  "Who  is  your  cousins' 
cousin  ?  Don't  you  know  ?  " 

"Aunt  Betty,  you  don't  mean  me!"  cried 
Adele.  "  It  isn't  mine.  It  couldn't  possibly  be." 

"  That  is  exactly  whose  it  is,"  Miss  Betty  told 
her.  "  Your  father  has  sent  it  to  you  for  a  birth- 
day gift." 

"  But  my  birthday  is  past  and  gone." 


134  Playmate  Polly 

"  That  is  true.  Ho  couldn't  get  what  he 
wanted  at  once,  so  he  had  to  wait,  and  so  your 
present  has  just  arrived." 

Adele  rushed  forward  and  clasped  the  pony's 
neck.  "Oh,  you  dear  beautiful  thing,"  she 
cried.  "I  love  you.  Oh,  Jessie,  isn't  he  a 
beauty  ?  " 

Jessie  could  but  agree  that  he  certainly  was. 

"  And  can  I  drive  him  myself  ?  "  asked  Adele 
eagerly. 

"  When  you  learn  how,"  she  was  told. 

"  I  can  drive,"  declared  Jessie.  "  I  often  drive 
when  I  am  out  with  mother." 

"  Your  father  says  he  is  very  gentle,"  remarked 
Miss  Eloise  to  Adele. 

"Then  couldn't  we  try  him  now?"  begged 
Adele. 

"  Couldn't  Jessie  drive  him  just  a  little  way  to 
see  how  he  goes?" 

Miss  Betty  looked  at  Miss  Eloise.  "Do  you 
think  it  would  be  safe  ?  "  she  said. 

"  Can  you  really  drive,  Jessie  ?  "  asked  Miss 
Eloise. 

"  I  truly  can,"  Jessie  told  her.  "  I  often  drive 
all  the  way.  I  can  turn  out  for  the  big  teams 


Dapple  Gray  135" 

and  I  can  drive  in  through  the  gates  as  straight 
as  anything." 

"Then  you  may  jump  in  and  show  us  what 
you  can  do,"  Miss  Betty  consented,  and  the  little 
girls  were  not  slow  in  obeying. 

"  How  far  may  we  go  ?  "  asked  Jessie  taking 
up  the  reins. 

"  Oh,  not  out  of  sight.  Just  up  and  down  the 
road  where  we  can  see  you,"  Miss  Betty  directed. 

Jessie  proudly  turned  the  pony's  head  toward 
the  gate,  drove  through  without  accident,  and 
soon  the  little  pony  was  trotting  up  the  road. 
Miss  Betty  and  Miss  Eioise  came  to  the  gate  to 
watch.  Jessie  turned  carefully  and  brought  the 
pony  back  in  triumph. 

"Can't  she  drive  well?"  said  Adele  admir- 
ingly. "  She  is  going  to  teach  me,  and  when  she 
isn't  here  to  do  it  Otto  can."  Otto  was  the  Hal- 
letts'  man.  "  What  shall  I  name  him,  Aunt 
Betty?" 

"  Why  not  call  him  Dapple  Gray  ?  "  suggested 
Miss  Eioise. 

"  Good !    That  will  just  suit  him,  but  I  shall 
never  lend  him  to  a  lady  to  ride  him  far  awaj> 
Oh,  no,  we  don't  want  to  get  out  yet." 


136  Playmate  Polly 

"But  the  little  pony  must  be  tired.  He  has 
come  a  long  distance  to-day." 

That  put  another  face  upon  the  matter  and 
Adele  was  quite  willing  that  Jessie  should  give 
up  the  reins  to  Otto  who  led  Dapple  Gray  to  the 
stable. 

"  I  never  knew  such  lovely  things  as  happen 
nowadays,"  said  Adele  as  she  and  Jessie  returned 
to  the  garden.  "  First  I  met  you  and  we  had 
the  lovely  plays  down  by  the  brook,  then  came 
Eb,  and  now  this  dear  Dapple  Gray !  Before  I 
came  here  weeks  and  weeks  used  to  go  by  and 
nothing  at  all  happened.  I  do  hope  we  can  go 
driving  every  day  by  ourselves ;  it  would  be  such 
fun." 

"Within  a  week  Adele  had  learned  to  manage 
her  pony  pretty  well,  and  the  two  little  girls 
were  allowed  to  take  a  short  drive  each  day, 
not  going  out  of  sight  of  the  house,  but  in  time 
Adele  tired  of  this  and  was  bent  upon  going 
farther.  She  begged  and  entreated  till  Miss 
Betty  was  on  the  point  of  yielding,  and  at  last 
agreed  to  take  a  longer  drive  than  usual  in  her 
own  carriage  that  Adele  and  Jessie  might  follow 
in  the  pony  cart.  This  satisfied  Adele  for  a 


Dapple  Gray  137 

week,  but  there  came  a  day  when  Miss  Betty 
had  one  of  her  severe  headaches,  and  Miss  Eloise 
was  not  willing  to  leave  her,  so  the  two  little 
girls  were  told  they  could  take  their  drive  alone, 
but  must  not  go  out  of  sight. 

They  started  off  contentedly  enough,  but  soon 
Adele  became  tired  of  the  monotonous  drive  up 
and  down  in  front  of  the  house.  "  Miss  Eloise  is 
with  Aunt  Betty  and  I  know  she  isn't  thinking 
about  us,"  she  said.  "  We  may  just  as  well  go  a 
little  further  and  she  will  never  know.  It  is  so 
silly  to  go  up  and  down,  up  and  down,  this 
stupid  road  and  nowhere  else." 

"Oh,  but  it  wouldn't  be  right,  whether  she 
sees  us  or  not,"  protested  Jessie. 

"  There  isn't  a  bit  of  harm  in  it,"  Adele  in- 
sisted. "  We  go  every  day,  and  just  because  we 
are  not  with  them  it  doesn't  matter.  I  am  going 
further  whether  any  one  likes  it  or  not."  She 
gave  a  little  jerk  to  the  reins  and  Dapple  Gray 
started  off  on  a  trot.  The  excitement  of  a  faster 
gait  stirred  Adele  to  further  desire  for  a  rapid 
drive.  "  I  am  tired  to  death  of  this  old  road," 
she  declared.  "  I  want  to  go  somewhere  new. 
I  am  going  to  turn  up  this  way." 


138  Playmate  Polly 

"  Oh,  no,  please  don't,"  begged  Jessie. 

"  You  needn't  say  a  word,"  Adele  interrupted. 
"  You  haven't  a  thing  to  do  with  it.  This  is  my 
pony  and  my  cart,  and  you  have  to  do  it  to  sit 
still.  You  are  my  company  and  I  am  taking  you 
to  drive." 

Jessie  felt  that  this  was  quite  true,  though  she 
knew  that  Adele  was  doing  wrong.  She  realized 
that  she  ought  to  do  something,  but  she  did  not 
know  just  what.  If  she  insisted  upon,  getting 
out  and  going  home  she  would  leave  Adele  all 
alone,  and  that  would  be  worse  than  staying  to 
help  her  out  of  any  difficulty  into  which  she 
might  fall.  "  Perhaps  I'd  better  drive,"  she  ven- 
tured after  a  while  when  Adele  had  recklessly 
driven  over  a  big  stone  and  had  almost  bumped 
into  a  stump  by  the  way. 

"No,  you  shall  not,"  returned  Adele.  "The 
only  way  to  learn  to  do  a  thing  is  to  keep  on  do- 
ing it,  no  matter  if  you  do  it  wrong  sometimes. 
Papa  always  says  so." 

Jessie  had  nothing  to  reply  to  this,  but  she 
watched  Adele  carefully.  They  were  coming  to 
a  hill.  Jessie  looked  around  earnestly.  "  Oh  !  " 
she  exclaimed,  "do  be  careful,  Adele.  "We  are 


Dapple  Gray  139 

coming  to  the  cut.  It  is  at  the  foot  of  this 
hill.  We  came  by  the  mill,  I  remember,  and  this 
leads  by  the  old  schoolhouse.  We'd  better  turn 
and  go  back." 

"  No,  thank  you,"  replied  Adele,  "  I'm  going 
on.  If  you  are  scared  you  can  get  out  and 
walk." 

Jessie's  feelings  were  deeply  hurt.  She  wasn't 
exactly  scared,  but  she  knew  at  the  foot  of  the 
hill  was  the  railroad  cut,  and  though  there  was 
always  some  one  there,  if  the  horse  took  fright, 
or  if  anything  happened  to  the  cart  or  harness, 
it  might  mean  an  accident.  "  We  have  to  cross 
the  railroad,"  she  said  after  a  pause. 

"  Well,  suppose  we  do  ;  other  people  cross  it," 
was  the  answer. 

"  Hold  him  in,"  cried  Jessie  sharply,  clutching 
at  the  reins  as  Dapple  Gray  went  down  the  hill 
at  a  more  rapid  rate  than  she  felt  safe. 

"  Just  let  me  alone,"  cried  Adele  giving  Dapple 
Gray  a  light  touch  with  the  whip. 

"  Don't  1  Don't ! "  cried  Jessie,  but  Adele  only 
laughed,  and  directly  they  were  at  the  foot  of 
the  hill  where  the  railroad  ran.  Instead  of  tak- 
ing a  clean  straight  course  across  it,  Adele  tried 


140  Playmate  Polly 

to  drive  diagonally.  "  There's  a  whistle,"  cried 
Jessie  in  alarm.  Adele  raised  the  whip  again. 
Dapple  Gray  made  a  plunge  forward.  A  wheel 
caught  and  presently  Jessie  was  conscious  that 
she  was  rolling  down  an  embankment.  Then  she 
knew  nothing  for  some  time. 

When  she  came  to  her  senses,  she  was  lying  in 
a  little  gully  among  some  bushes.  She  raised 
her  head  and  then  struggled  to  her  feet.  "  No 
bones  broken,"  she  said  to  herself,  though  she 
felt  shaken  and  sore.  She  stood  up  and  looked 
around.  At  a  little  distance  she  saw  Adele  sit- 
ting sobbing  miserably.  She  ran  toward  her  as 
fast  as  her  bruises  would  allow.  "  Oh,  Adele ! 
Adele  ! "  she  cried,  "  are  you  hurt  ?  " 

"  Oh  !  my  arm,  my  arm,"  moaned  Adele.  "  I 
believe  it  is  broken." 

"  Oh,  dear,  dear,  how  dreadful,"  responded 
Jessie.  "  Where  is  Dapple  Gray  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know." 

Jessie  climbed  the  bank  and  there  saw  Dapple 
Gray  patiently  standing,  a  broken  wheel  showing 
what  had  happened.  The  wheel  had  caught  in 
the  track  and  although  both  girls  were  thrown 
out  as  the  wheel  gave  way  the  little  pony  had 


Dapple  Gray  141 

not  bolted,  but  stood  his  ground.  Jessie  went  up 
to  him,  and  began  to  unfasten  the  harness.  "It 
won't  do  for  you  to  stand  so  near  the  track,"  she 
said.  "  You  were  a  dear  good  pony  not  to  run. 
The  cart  isn't  on  the  track,  I  am  glad  to  say." 
She  led  the  pony  down  the  bank  to  where  Adele 
sat.  "  We  are  quite  a  way  from  home,"  she  said. 
"  Shall  you  be  afraid  to  stay  here  while  I  go  for 
some  one  to  take  us  back  ?  " 

"  Oh,  don't  leave  me,  don't  leave  me,"  Adele 
wept. 

"  If  you  could  come  up  a  little  higher,  you 
could  watch  me  as  I  go,"  said  Jessie.  "  Ezra 
lives  the  nearest,  and  I  am  going  down  the  track 
to  call  him."  Adele,  still  moaning  and  crying, 
allowed  herself  to  be  led  to  a  higher  spot.  "  I 
don't  think  there  will  be  any  more  trains  for 
some  time,"  Jessie  assured  her,  "  and  if  you  stay 
right  here  you  can  watch  me  going  and  coming. 
I  will  be  as  quick  as  I  can." 

Adele  suffered  herself  to  be  left  and  Jessie  set 
out.  Further  down  the  railroad  spanned  a  gully 
through  which  ran  the  brook.  The  only  way  to 
cross  it  was  upon  a  narrow  board  walk  on  one 
side  the  bridge,  this  being  used  by  the  workmen 


142  Playmate  Polly 

as  a  short  cut.  The  longer  way  was  to  go  down 
hill  and  around  to  a  foot-bridge  higher  up  the 
brook.  Jessie  hesitated  when  she  reached  the 
path  which  led  down  hill.  Should  she  go  that 
way,  or  should  she  venture  across  the  railroad 
bridge?  If  she  did  not  look  down  and  hold 
closely  to  the  railing,  perhaps  it  would  not  be  so 
bad.  She  decided  to  try.  So  she  stepped  cau- 
tiously upon  the  planks  and  went  on  slowly, 
doing  very  well  till  she  reached  the  middle,  when 
incautiously  she  glanced  down  at  the  rushing 
water  below.  For  one  moment  she  felt  sick  and 
faint.  Everything  swam  around.  Then  she 
closed  her  eyes  and  held  tightly  to  the  railing, 
stepping  along  slowly,  each  moment  seeming  an 
hour.  In  a  few  minutes  her  heart  stopped  its 
rapid  beating  and  her  head  felt  steady,  so  she 
opened  her  eyes  and  fixed  them  on  the  opposite 
bank,  not  once  turning  them  from  there,  and  at 
last  she  was  safely  over. 

A  little  beyond  was  Ezra's  house  with  its  smil- 
ing garden  and  white  fence.  Although  sh  i  felt 
sore  and  bruised  she  began  to  run,  forge  ttinj  her 
pain  in  her  anxiety  to  reach  the  house.  Ti  A^as 
about  Ezra's  supper  time;  there  would  In  no 


Dapple  Gray  143 

trains  coming  or  going  at  this  time  of  day,  and 
she  would  be  sure  to  find  the  old  man  at  home. 
So  she  began  to  call,  "  Ezra !  Ezra !  "  and  presently 
she  saw  his  gray  head  over  the  fence. 

He  opened  the  gate  and  came  out  to  meet  her. 
"  Why,  little  girl !  "  he  exclaimed,  "  what  are  you 
doing  on  this  road  ?  'Tain't  your  way  from  home. 
Why,  your  face  is  cut  and  you're  all  mussed  up. 
Tumble  down  ?  " 

"  Oh,  Ezra !  Ezra ! "  cried  Jessie,  seizing  his  hand, 
"  the  pony  cart  upset  us  over  the  bank  there  by 
the  cut,  and  Adele  has  hurt  her  arm.  The  pony 
is  all  right.  He  is  standing  just  as  still,  but  the 
cart-wheel  is  off  so  we  can't  get  home,  at  least  I 
don't  know  how  to  get  Adele  and  the  pony  home." 

"  Where  did  you  say  they  were  ?  "  asked  Ezra. 

"  On  the  other  side  of  the  gully,  there  by  the 
cut." 

"  You  didn't  come  over  the  railroad  bridge  ?  " 

"  Yes,  it  was  the  shortest  way,"  said  Jessie 
simply. 

Ezra  uttered  an  exclamation.  "  You  poor  lit- 
tle tot,  what  would  your  mother  say  ?  Suppose 
you  had  slipped  under  the  hand-rail  and  had  fallen 
into  the  water  ?  " 


1 44  Playmate  Polly 

"  I  shut  my  eyes  when  I  got  dizzy." 

"Humph!  Well,  you  don't  go  back,  that's 
all.  Come  right  in  here  and  let  my  daughter 
straighten  you  out,  wash  off  that  poor  little  bat- 
tered up  face.  Mark  and  I  will  go  get  the  pony 
and  the  little  girl.  What  do  ye  say  her  name  is  ?  " 

"Adele.     Adele  Hallett." 

Ezra  nodded.  "  Belongs  to  the  yellow  house. 
What  ye  been  doing  driving  off  in  that  direction 
by  yourselves,  is  what  I  want  to  know." 

Jessie  was  silent.  She  did  not  like  to  blame 
Adele,  though  she  knew  it  was  entirely  her 
fault.  "  I  told  Adele  I'd  hurry  back,"  she  said. 

"  You're  not  going  back,"  declared  Ezra. 
"  I'll  look  after  that  young  miss  myself.  Come 
right  in  the  house.  Here,  Kitty,"  he  spoke  to  a 
young  woman  at  the  door.  "  Here's  Miss  Loomis 
that  brought  us  those  good  apples.  She's  had  an 
accident  up  the  road  a  piece.  Her  and  a  young 
miss  was  out  driving,  and  as  far  as  I  can  make 
out  they  got  catched  on  the  railroad  and  a  wheel 
came  off.  You  tidy  her  up  a  bit  while  Mark  and 
me  goes  after  the  other  one." 

Jessie  had  often  seen  Ezra's  daughter  as  well 
as  her  husband  Mark,  and  she  was  quite  willing 


Dapple  Gray  145 

to  be  taken  indoors  to  have  her  face  bathed,  the 
dirt  brushed  from  her  clothes  and  herself  gen- 
erally looked  after.  There  was  a  tremendous 
bruise  on  her  leg,  one  stocking  was  badly  torn, 
and  the  side  of  her  face  was  scraped  and  sore 
where  she  had  fallen  against  the  bank. 

"  It's  lucky  you  weren't  killed  outright,"  said 
Kitty,  when  by  dint  of  much  questioning  she 
learned  how  the  thing  happened.  "  Pappy'll  be 
back  in  no  time.  You  just  set  still  and  wait  for 
him.  I  reckon  your  ma'll  be  glad  to  see  you 
alive  when  she  hears  what's  went  on." 

She  established  Jessie  in  a  chair  by  the  window 
and  continued  her  preparations  for  supper.  In  a 
very  short  time  Ezra  and  Mark  were  back  again 
with  Adele  in  the  wagon  and  Dapple  Gray  be- 
hind it.  "  I  conclude  she  has  broken  her  arm," 
said  Ezra  to  his  daughter  as  he  came  into  the 
house.  "  There  ain't  no  time  to  lose  in  getting 
her  to  the  doctor  to  have  it  sot,  so  I  think  the 
quickest  way  is  to  drive  her  right  to  Dr.  Sadtler's 
and  let  him  see  what's  wrong.  I  ain't  said 
nothin'  to  her  about  what  I  think." 

"  Pore  little  thing,"  said  Kitty,  "  she  looks  real 
white." 


146  Playmate  Polly 

Jessie  had  flown  to  Adele.  "  I  couldn't  come," 
she  exclaimed.  "  Ezra  wouldn't  let  me.  Do  you 
feel  any  better  ?  " 

"No."  Adele  shook  her  head  and  her  tears 
broke  out  afresh.  "  I  want  to  go  home,  I  want 
to  go  home,"  she  sobbed. 

Ezra  came  out  before  Jessie  had  time  for  an- 
other word.  "  You  stay  here,  honey,"  he  said  to 
Jessie.  "  I'll  take  this  young  lady  to  the  doctor 
and  let  him  fix  her  up  so  she'll  feel  better  and 
then  we'll  come  back  for  you." 

But  Adele  wailed  out,  "  Go  with  me,  Jessie. 
Go  with  me.  I  don't  want  to  see  the  doctor  all 
alone." 

"  Ezra  will  be  with  you,"  said  Jessie  who  was 
feeling  rather  shaky  herself. 

"  Yes,  sir,  Ezra  will  be  right  with  you,"  said 
that  person,  "and  moreover  this  young  miss  isn't 
to  go ;  she  isn't  fit,  all  bruised  up  as  she  is.  You 
won't  be  alone,  bless  you,  child.  There  ain't  a 
kinder  woman  in  the  country  than  Mrs.  Sadtler, 
and  she'll  mother  you  fine.  You'll  be  all  right  in 
no  time.  No,  you  don't!"  he  stopped  Jessie 
from  climbing  into  the  wagon.  Mark  had  un- 
fastened Dapple  Gray  and  had  tied  him  to  the 


Dapple  Gray  147 

hhching-post.  "  We'll  go  for  the  cart  after  a 
vr bile,"  said  Ezra  gathering  up  the  reins.  "  You 
vrait  here,  child,  and  I'll  be  back  as  quick  as  I 
Can."  So  Jessie  was  obliged  to  see  Adele  drive 
*  if  while  she  was  left  to  Kitty's  tender  mercies. 


CHAPTER  IX 
The  Gray  Kitten 


CHAPTER  IX 
The  Gray  Kitten 

IT  was  a  very  subdued  and  wan  little  Adele  who 
was  helped  into  the  house  by  the  doctor,  who  re- 
mained to  explain  the  situation,  while  Ezra  took 
Jessie  home.  Poor  Miss  Betty  was  overcome  at 
sight  of  her  niece  with  her  arm  in  splints  and 
looking  so  pale.  "  Child !  child ! "  she  cried. 
"  What  has  happened  ?  We  have  been  so  anxious 
about  you.  At  first  we  thought  you  had  gone 
home  with  Jessie,  but  Otto  said  he  saw  you 
driving  in  an  opposite  direction."  She  turned  to 
the  doctor.  "  What  has  happened  ?  "  she  asked 
tremulously. 

"  It  seems  the  young  ladies  were  crossing  the 
track  just  there  by  the  cut  and  the  wheel  caught 
in  the  track,  upsetting  their  cart  and  throwing 
them  out.  Fortunately  there  is  no  worse  dam- 
age done  than  a  broken  arm  and  a  broken  cart." 

"  The  horse  ran  away  ! "  exclaimed  Miss  Betty. 

"  Not  a  bit  of  it.     Fine  little  beast  that  he  is, 


J  52  Playmate  Polly 

he  stood  stock  still.  Little  Loomis  girl  was 
thrown  into  some  bushes.  She  was  stunned  by 
the  fall,  but  seems  all  right  otherwise  except  for 
a  few  bruises.  She  was  a  little  Trojan,  Ezra 
Limpett  tells  me,  and  tramped  across  that  dan- 
gerous railroad  bridge  to  get  help.  You'd  better 
have  this  child  put  to  bed,  Miss  Hallett,  and  I  see 
you  look  rather  the  worse  for  wear  yourself." 

"  I've  had  one  of  my  headaches,"  replied  Miss 
Betty,  passing  her  hand  over  her  forehead. 

"  Humph  !  Fine  time  to  take  for  explorations. 
I  gather  that's  what  the  youngsters  were  doing. 
At  least  my  wife  says  so."  The  doctor  spoke  as 
if  he  had  no  patience  with  such  doings. 

Miss  Betty  turned  a  troubled  face  upon  Adele. 
"  Oh,  my  child,  how  could  you  ?  "  she  exclaimed. 
"Didn't  you  know  we  do  not  allow  you  to  go 
out  of  sight  of  the  house  ?  " 

Adele  burst  into  loud  sobs.  "  There,  there," 
said  Miss  Betty,  soothingly  ;  "  I  am  sure  you  have 
had  punishment  enough,  and  I  won't  scold,  but  I 
wish  your  father  had  never  bought  you  that  pony. 
I  shall  never  have  an  easy  day  after  this." 

"The  pony  is  all  right,"  declared  the  doctor. 
"  He  had  the  good  sense  not  to  run  when  he  felt 


The  Gray  Kitten  153 

the  wheel  going.  He  is  a  fine  little  fellow  and 
it  is  due  to  his  good  behavior  that  the  children 
came  to  no  worse  mishap.  I'll  leave  a  quieting 
draught  for  the  child,  Miss  Hallett,  and  some- 
thing for  that  head  of  yours." 

"  My  head  was  better,"  said  Miss  Betty  weakly. 

"  This  won't  come  amiss,"  replied  the  doctor, 
putting  a  few  tablets  into  a  small  phial.  "  Get  the 
child  to  bed  and  go  yourself.  I'll  come  again  in 
the  morning." 

So  while  those  in  the  yellow  house  were  look- 
ing after  Adele,  Jessie  was  being  driven  home 
behind  Ezra's  old  white  horse  and  was  delivered 
safe,  if  not  quite  sound,  into  her  mother's  arms. 

As  it  was  getting  late  Mrs.  Loomis  was  getting 
anxious,  and  was  about  to  send  Max  to  the  Hal- 
letts'  after  his  little  sister.  Ezra  had  not  waited 
for  thanks,  but  as  soon  as  he  had  set  Jessie  safely 
down  before  her  own  door  he  drove  off  at  as 
rapid  a  pace  as  his  old  horse  could  travel.  At 
Jessie's  sudden  appearance  looking  as  if  she  had 
been  through  the  wars  her  mother  cried  out : 
"  "Why,  my  child,  what  is  the  matter  ?  How  did 
you  get  such  a  scratched  face  ?  and  look  at  your 
stocking  torn  to  shreds." 


154  Playmate  Polly 

"  Well,  I  vow ! "  exclaimed  "Walter,  "  you  do 
look  a  sight !  Been  climbing  trees,  I  bet." 

"Indeed  I've  not,"  returned  Jessie.  "I  can 
climb  trees,  but  I  haven't  done  it  to-day.  I'll 
tell  you,  mother,  but  I  don't  want  to  before 
Walter." 

"  Oh,  all  right,"  said  that  person  indifferentlj7, 
"  I  don't  want  to  know." 

Jessie  slipped  her  hand  into  her  mother's. 
"  Come  up-stairs,"  she  said  in  a  whisper, "  and  I'll 
show  you  my  leg." 

"  Your  leg  ? "  Mrs.  Loomis  began  to  look 
alarmed,  and  led  Jessie  up-stairs.  "My  dear 
child,"  she  said  when  they  had  entered  Jessie's 
little  room,  "  what  has  happened  ?  " 

"  It  wasn't  my  fault,  indeed  it  wasn't,"  began 
Jessie  trying  to  be  brave,  but  now  that  she  was 
in  the  safe  harbor  of  her  mother's  arms,  feeling 
that  she  could  not  keep  back  the  tears.  "  I  tried 
to  make  Adele  stop,  and  not  go  out  of  sight,  but 
she  just  would  and  would  go  further  and  further. 
She  was  bent  and  determined  to  go  as  far  as  she 
could,  and  I  was  afraid  to  let  her  go  off  by  her- 
self, and  yet  I  knew  it  wasn't  right  for  us  to  be 
driving  out  of  sight.  I  truly  didn't  know  what 


The  Gray  Kitten  155 

to  do,  mother.  She  wouldn't  let  me  drive  nor  get 
out  nor  anything  and  she  wouldn't  go  back,  so  all 
I  could  do  was  to  sit  still.  Then  she  drove  bias 
across  the  railroad  track,  and  the  wheel  caught, 
and  we  were  tipped  out.  I  fell  down  into  some 
bushes  and  got  an  awful  bruise.  Just  see."  She 
displayed  a  large  black  and  blue  surface  to  her 
mother. 

"  Why,  you  poor  child,  that  certainly  is  a  bruise. 
I  must  bathe  it  after  a  while.  But  now  go  on 
with  your  story."  Mrs.  Loornis's  hands  trembled 
as  she  held  Jessie  closer. 

"  Then,"  continued  the  little  girl,  "  when  I 
came  to  my  senses  I  didn't  see  Adele  at  first,  but 
I  saw  Dapple  Gray  standing  quite  still  by  the 
railroad  track.  A  cart-wheel  was  off  and  the 
cart  was  tipped  down  the  bank.  But  wasn't 
Dapple  Gray  good  not  to  move  ?  " 

"  He  was  indeed,  but  oh,  my  little  daughter,  I 
dare  not  think  what  might  have  happened.  Sup- 
pose a  train  had  been  coming  along." 

"  One  did  whistle.  It  was  a  freight  train,  I 
think,  but  it  must  have  passed  before  we  got 
there.  "Well,  I  picked  myself  up  and  found  Adele 
sitting  there  crying  about  her  arm.  She  has 


156  Playmate  Polly 

broken  it,  mother,  but  we  didn't  know  it  then 
and  there  wasn't  any  house  nearer  than  Ezra's  so 
I  went  there."  She  hesitated  for  a  moment  be- 
fore going  on.  "  It  was  so  much  nearer  not  to 
go  across  the  foot-bridge,  so  I  went  the  other 
way." 

"  Oh,  Jessie  !  "  Mrs.  Loomis  turned  pale. 

"  Yes,  I  did.  I  knew  that  perhaps  I  ought  not, 
but  it  would  save  time,  you  see.  I  did  get 
awfully  dizzy  just  in  the  middle,  but  I  shut  my 
eyes  and  said, 

"  'God  shall  charge  His  angel  legions 
Watch  and  ward  o'er  thee  to  keep,' 

and  presently  I  felt  all  right,  so  I  got  over  safely 
and  found  Ezra — oh,  dear,  he  hasn't  had  his  sup- 
per. Isn't  that  too  bad  ! — and  Kitty  washed  my 
face  and  fixed  me  up  while  Ezra  and  Mark  went 
for  Adele  and  took  her  to  the  doctor.  Then  they 
stopped  for  me  and  we  all  took  Adele  home  and 
then  Ezra  brought  me." 

"  My  darling  child,  what  a  dreadful  time  you 
have  had,"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Loomis. 

"  I  haven't  told  any  one  but  you  about  Adele, 
mother,  truly  I  haven't.  I  never  said  to  any  one 


The  Gray  Kitten  157 

that  it  was  her  fault.  Could  I  help  it  happening  ? 
"What  ought  I  to  have  done  ?  " 

Mrs.  Looinis  was  silent  for  a  moment.  "  It  was 
a  very  hard  position  for  a  little  girl,  so  hard  that 
I  do  not  see  how  I  can  consent  to  your  being 
thrown  with  so  wilful  a  child  as  Adele.  I  am 
afraid  for  the  consequences." 

"  Oh,  mother  ! "  There  were  surprise  and  re- 
gret in  Jessie's  tones.  "  Am  I  never  to  play  with 
her  again,  poor  Adele  !  And  am  I  never  to  go  to 
the  yellow  house  ?  Not  for  lessons  or  anything  ? 
Oh,  mother !  " 

"  I  shall  have  to  think  it  over,  dear,  and  have 
a  talk  with  your  father  before  we  can  decide.  It 
is  a  very  serious  matter  for  us  to  have  our  only 
dear  little  girl  placed  in  such  danger  as  you  were 
in  to-day.  So  far  as  you  were  concerned  I  really 
do  not  see  how  you  can  be  blamed,  and  you  tried 
to  be  brave  and  noble  for  Adele's  sake,  but  we 
must  make  it  impossible  for  such  a  thing  to  hap- 
pen again.  Now,  come  down  and  have  some 
supper,  and  then  I  think  you'd  better  go  to  bed, 
for  it  has  been  a  very  exciting  day  for  you. 
There  will  be  no  lessons  to-morrow  and  you'd  bet- 
ter not  get  up  very  early."  She  did  not  say  that 


158  Playmate  Polly 

she  still  felt  anxious  lest  Jessie  had  suffered  more 
from  the  accident  than  at  once  appeared. 

The  next  morning  Jessie  woke  up  feeling  stiff 
and  sore,  and  was  glad  when  Max  came  up  with 
her  breakfast.  He  had  added  some  ripe  persim- 
mons to  her  bill  />f  fare  and  was  so  kind  and  so- 
licitous that  Jessie  quite  enjoyed  the  reputation  of 
invalid.  Walter,  too,  poked  his  head  in  the  door 
and  asked  how  she  was  feeling,  blundering  out  a 
half  apology  by  saying,  "Why  didn't  you  tell  a 
fellow  what  was  the  matter  when  you  came  in  ?" 
Then  he  tossed  a  little  pale  pink  rose  on  the  bed 
and  ran  away.  The  rose  was  the  last  of  the  sea- 
son and  he  had  found  it  braving  the  frost  which 
had  sweetened  the  persimmons.  Minerva,  also, 
came  up  with  a  plate  of  tiny  hot  biscuits  which 
she  had  baked  especially  for  the  little  girl. 

Later  in  the  day  Max  was  sent  over  to  inquire 
how  Adele  was,  and  brought  back  the  report  that 
she  was  doing  very  well  but  had  had  a  feverish 
night.  By  the  time  Max  had  returned  Jessie  had 
found  bed  rather  a  tiresome  place  and  so  had 
begged  to  be  allowed  to  get  up  and  come  down. 

Her  father  looked  her  over,  asked  many  ques- 
tions and  finally  decided  that  the  big  bruise  was 


The  Gray  Kitten  159 

her  worst  hurt  and  that  she  could  go  out  and  in 
as  she  pleased.  "  Run  out  of  doors  all  you  want 
to,"  he  said,  "  but  don't  get  tired  out,"  so  Jessie 
availed  herself  of  this  permission  and  concluded 
to  go  hunt  up  the  boys. 

She  found  them  in  the  barn  amusing  themselves 
with  Eb.  He  had  learned  to  say,  "  Hallo  ! "  and 
was  walking  back  and  forth  on  a  beam,  cocking 
his  eye  and  looking  down  at  the  boys  below. 

"  He's  a  funny  fellow,"  said  Max  as  Jessie  came 
in.  "  I'd  like  to  take  him  back  to  school.  We're 
going  Monday.  Carl  is  all  right,  they  say." 

"  It  certainly  would  make  the  children  laugh  and 

play 
To  see  a  crow  at  school," 

said  Jessie  laughing. 

"  Jessie  had  a  little  crow 

As  black  as  you  can  think. 
It  followed  her  to  school  one  day 
And  drank  up  all  the  ink," 

said  Max. 

"  Ho,  I  can  do  better  than  that,"  boasted  Wai- 
fit* 


i6o  Playmate  Polly 

"  Jessie  had  a  little  crow 
As  black  as  any  sloe 
And  everywhere  that  Jessie  went 
The  crow  was  sure  to  go." 

"  What  is  a  sloe  ?  "  asked  Jessie. 

"  I'm  sure  I  don't  know,"  said  "Walter.  "  Ask 
Max.  He  is  the  walking  dictionary." 

"  It  is  a  kind  of  plum,  I  believe,"  Max  told 
them. 

"  I  never  saw  a  plum  as  black  as  Ebon  is,"  said 
Jessie,  stroking  the  shining  feathers  of  the  bird 
who  had  flown  down  and  was  sitting  on  her  wrist. 

"  And  I  suppose  you  never  saw  a  green  rose, 
but  I  have,"  returned  Max. 

"  Where  did  you  see  it  ?  "  Jessie  asked. 

"  In  a  greenhouse,  Mr.  Atkinson's." 

"  Well,  I  suppose  plums  could  be  black,"  said 
Jessie  persuaded  that  Max  knew  what  he  was 
talking  about. 

"  Look  at  Eb  pecking  at  your  buttons,  Jess," 
said  Walter.  "  He  has  one  almost  off." 

Jessie  wore  a  red  jacket  whose  bright  buttons 
pleased  Ebon's  fancy.  "He  is  getting  to  be  a 
great  mischief,"  she  said.  "  He  tried  to  carry  off 
mother's  thimble  yesterday.  Go  'long,  Eb.  Go 


The  Gray  Kitten  161 

pretend  you  are  a  chicken  or  something.  Max, 
will  you  go  with  me  to  Effie  Hinsdale's  to  get  my 
kitten  ?  It  is  big  enough  now,  and  if  I  am  not  to 
go  to  Adele's  any  more  I  shall  need  the  kitten." 

"  Let's  go  with  her,"  proposed  Walter.  "  Then 
we  can  see  Jack  and  some  of  the  other  boys. 
We'll  go,  Jess." 

Walter  was  very  amiable  to-day,  Jessie  thought. 
He  really  loved  his  little  sister,  and  the  fact  that 
she  had  been  in  great  danger  the  day  before 
made  him  realize  what  it  would  be  to  lose  her. 

"  We  might  get  both  kittens,"  said  Jessie, 
"  and  then  we  could  leave  Adele's  for  her  on  our 
way  home.  She  will  be  so  glad  to  have  it  now 
that  she  has  a  broken  arm  and  no  one  to  play  with." 

"Do  you  suppose  her  father  will  sell  Dapple 
Gray  ?  "  said  Walter.  "  I  wish  our  father  could 
buy  him." 

"  Adele  would  feel  awfully  to  have  him  sold," 
said  Jessie.  "  Oh,  dear !  "  she  drew  a  long  sigh. 

"  What's  the  matter  ?  "  asked  Max  anxiousl}7. 

"  Nothing  much.  I  was  only  thinking  what  a 
pity  it  is  that  things  can't  alwa}rs  go  right." 

"  I  don't  see  what  possessed  you  two  to  go  off 
that  way,"  said  Walter  reading  her  thoughts. 


162  Playmate  Polly 

"  I  don't  either,"  returned  Jessie  turning  away. 
"I'm  going  up  to  the  house  now  to  get  a  basket 
for  the  kittens." 

"  I  don't  believe  she  had  a  thing  to  do  with  it," 
said  Max  to  his  brother  when  Jessie  was  out  of 
hearing.  "I'll  bet  it  was  the  Hallett  girl  that 
wanted  to  have  her  way,  and  Jess  won't  tell  on 
her." 

"  That's  pretty  decent  of  Jess  then,"  said  Wal- 
ter, "  and  it  was  pretty  fine  of  that  pony  not  to 
bolt  when  the  wheel  came  off.  I'll  tell  you  a 
pony  like  that  is  worth  having.  Ezra  said  he 
stood  as  still  as  a  post  till  they  led  him  away." 

"  I  reckon  Mr.  Hallett  won't  want  to  give  him 
up,"  returned  Max. 

"  But  he'll  not  let  those  two  kids  go  driving 
off  by  themselves  again,"  remarked  "Walter  with 
the  superiority  of  his  years,  which  were  but  two 
more  than  Jessie's. 

Jessie  with  her  two  brothers  made  the  visit  to 
the  Hinsdales,  and  Jessie  bore  away  the  gray 
kitten  in  triumph,  but  her  pleasure  was  marred 
by  finding  that  the  black  kitten  had  been  given 
to  a  cousin  of  the  cook's,  so  there  was  none  for 
Adele. 


The  Gray  Kitten  163 

"  I  am  so  sorry,"  said  Effie,  "  but  Adele  shall 
have  first  choice  of  the  next  batch." 

"  She'll  be  dreadfully  disappointed,"  said  Jes- 
sie sadly. 

"  I  am  so  sorry,"  repeated  Effie,  "  and  if  there 
were  one  left  she  should  have  it,  but  we  never  take 
the  last  one  from  Tippy,  you  see ;  that  wouldn't 
be  right,  and  yours  is  the  last  one  left  to  give." 

Jessie  hugged  her  own  furry  darling  to  her, 
and,  the  boys  having  called  out  that  they 
couldn't  wait  any  longer,  she  was  obliged  to  join 
them,  but  all  the  way  home  she  was  struggling 
with  a  problem.  Ought  she  to  give  up  the  gray 
kitten  to  Adele  ?  Poor  Adele  had  no  brothers 
and  no  mother,  and,  if  Jessie  must  give  her  up, 
she  would  have  no  playmate.  Although  Adele 
had  been  the  means  of  getting  them  both  into 
serious  trouble,  Jessie  felt  the  sorrier  for  her 
on  account  of  her  very  naughtiness,  and  some- 
how could  only  think  of  her  friend  as  she  was  in 
her  most  charming  moods.  When  she  chose, 
Adele  could  be  the  most  fascinating  of  compan- 
ions, and  Jessie  believed  that  her  love  was  very 
genuine,  so  the  more  she  thought  of  it  the  more 
she  felt  that  she  ought  to  give  up  the  kitten. 


164  Playmate  Polly 

However,  she  decided  not  to  make  up  her  mind 
right  away,  and  in  the  meantime  she  need  not 
let  Adele  know  that  the  gray  kitten  had  been 
taken  away  from  Effie's.  But  while  she  was 
weighing  the  matter  in  her  own  mind  came  a 
note  from  Adele  that  settled  the  question.  It 
arrived  the  next  morning,  and  was  the  outcome 
of  a  visit  from  Effie  who  had  literally  let  the 
cat  out  of  the  bag  when  she  went  to  see  how 
Adele  was.  The  note  ran  thus : 


"  You  don't  love  me,  for  you  haven't  been  to 
see  me  and  I  suppose  you  think  I  am  too  bad  to 
play  with.  You  can  go  to  your  old  Polly  and 
stay  with  her  all  the  time.  I  shall  not  trubble 
you,  but  I  want  my  Peter  Pan  and  I  know  Polly 
has  stoled  him  to  spite  me.  Efy  says  you  have 
your  kiten.  What  made  you  take  it  when  there 
wassent  any  for  me  ?  Oh,  I  am  verry  miserble 
with  nobuddy  to  play  with.  If  Polly  dossent 
send  back  my  Peter  Pan  I  am  going  to  burn  her 
up.  Her  scraggy  hair  would  make  a  luvly  blaze. 
"Your  forsakened  frend, 

"ADELE." 


At  the  end  was  a  tear-stained  postscript  which 
read :  "  I  did  love  you.    I  did,  I  did." 
Evidently  Adele  was  in  one    of    her  worst 


The  Gray  Kitten  165 

moods  and  was  feeling  very  remorseful  and  un- 
happy. This  Jessie  knew,  but  at  the  same  time 
she  was  indignant  that  Adele  should  still  harp 
upon  Polly's  wickedness.  Of  course  it  was  very 
absurd  for  her  to  say  such  things,  for  how  could 
Polly  steal  anything  ?  Yet  the  note  quite  de- 
cided Jessie  not  to  give  up  the  gray  kitten,  and 
fcer  pity  for  Adele  suffered  a  change. 


CHAPTER  X 
Across  Water 


CHAPTER  X 
Across  Water 

IT  was  some  time  before  the  two  little  girls 
met,  for  Mrs.  Loomis  could  not  make  up  her  mind 
to  allow  Jessie  to  go  over  to  the  yellow  house, 
while  Miss  Betty  and  Miss  Eloise  appreciated  the 
fact  that  there  was  reason  for  hard  feelings 
against  Adele,  and  moreover  thought  that  noth- 
ing would  make  the  little  sinner  realize  her  mis- 
doing more  than  such  a  punishment  as  a  separa- 
tion from  Jessie.  Mrs.  Loomis  had  not  failed  to 
get  daily  reports  of  Adele's  progress  and  sent 
her  over  many  dainties  while  she  was  in  bed,  so 
that  Adele's  remorse  was  all  the  greater. 

Jessie  answered  the  note  by  saying  she  was 
very  sorry  about  the  kitten,  but  she  did  not  refer 
to  Peter  Pan  nor  to  Playmate  Polly.  For  a 
whole  week  she  was  obliged  to  spend  her  time 
with  her  old  companions,  for  the  boys  returned 
to  school  as  expected,  so  Eb  and  the  gray  kitten 
were  a  great  source  of  solace.  Eb  took  a.  great 


170  Playmate  Polly 

fancy  to  Cloudy,  and  it  was  very  funny  to  see 
him,  with  outspread  wings,  hopping  after  the 
prancing  kitten  who  was  in  no  way  afraid  of  him, 
and  who  would  give  him  little  impertinent  dabs 
when  he  came  too  near.  He  infinitely  preferred 
Cloudy  to  the  chickens. 

Finally  when  a  week  had  gone  by,  and  Jessie, 
who  had  avoided  the  brook  for  some  days,  was 
again  playing  with  Peter  Pan  and  Playmate 
Polly,  she  looked  across  the  little  stream  to  see  a 
wistful  pair  of  dark  eyes  gazing  at  her.  "  Oh, 
Adele ! "  she  cried,  "  are  you  able  to  come  out 
again  ?  " 

A  flashing  smile  changed  the  expression  of 
Adele's  face.  "  I  was  so  afraid  you  wouldn't 
speak  to  me,"  she  exclaimed.  "I  can't  come 
over,  for  I  am  trying  awfully  hard  to  be  good. 
Can't  you  come  to  this  side  ?  " 

"  I'm  afraid  not,"  replied  Jessie  slowly,  "  but 
perhaps  if  each  stays  on  her  own  side  we  can 
have  some  sort  of  play  and  won't  be  disobedient 
either." 

"I  think  that  will  be  lovely,"  cried  Adele. 
"  What  can  we  play  ?  I  can  use  only  my  right 
arm,  you  know." 


Across  Water  171 

"Will  it  be  a  long  time  before  you  can  use  the 
other  ?  "  asked  Jessie  interestedly. 

"  Not  so  very,  very  long.  The  doctor  says  it  is 
doing  very  well  indeed,  but  oh,  Jessie,  it  has  been 
awful  without  you." 

"  Are  you  having  lessons  ?  " 

"  No,  not  yet.  Aunt  Betty  hasn't  said  any- 
thing about  that,  and — and,"  the  tears  canie  to 
her  eyes,  "  if  you  are  not  there  I  shall  hate  les- 
sons worse  than  ever.  I  was  getting  so  I  didn't 
mind  them." 

"  It  is  too  bad,"  returned  Jessie. 

"  I  suppose  your  mother  thinks  I  am  too  wicked 
for  you  to  play  with,"  remarked  Adele  after  an 
awkward  pause. 

"  Well, — not  exactly,"  Jessie  wondered  how 
she  could  explain,  "  but  you  see  she  is  afraid  we'll 
get  into  some  mischief." 

"  I  know,  I  know,"  returned  Adele.  "  I  sup- 
pose I  am  very  wicked,  but  I  shall  never  want  to 
be  good  if  we  can't  be  friends." 

Jessie  pondered  for  a  moment  over  this  speech. 
It  made  her  feel  a  great  responsibility.  She 
wondered  if  her  mother  knew  that  Adele  was  in 
danger  of  becoming  very,  very  wicked,  if  it  would 


172  Playmate  Polly 

make  any  difference  in  her  decision  about  their 
friendship.  Certainly  it  was  a  subject  that 
needed  to  be  discussed,  and  it  should  be  done 
that  very  night  when  Jessie  and  her  mother  had 
their  last  little  talk  before  Mrs.  Loomis  kissed  her 
daughter  good-night.  For  the  present  it  would 
be  best  not  to  talk  about  it,  and  so  she  said, "  I'll 
tell  you  what  we  can  do ;  we  can  send  boats  back 
and  forth  to  each  other.  You  can  stay  on  one 
end  of  the  log  and  I  will  stay  on  the  other." 

"  If  I  come  to  the  middle,  will  you  come  and 
kiss  me  ?  "  asked  Adele. 

Jessie  thought  there  could  be,  no  harm  in  doing 
that  upon  strictly  neutral  ground.  "  But  we 
mustn't  stay  there,"  she  concluded. 

"  Oh,  no,  we  won't  stay  there,"  agreed  Jessie. 
So  they  proceeded  to  the  middle  of  the  log  that 
spanned  the  brook,  fervently  kissed  one  another, 
and  then  retreated  each  to  her  own  side. 

"  I'll  get  some  chips,"  said  Jessie,  "  and  throw 
some  over  to  you.  "We  ought  to  have  some 
string,  too.  Oh,  I  know  where  there  is  some ;  in 
the  grotto  I  had  a  little  ball  of  it  the  other  day, 
and  I  put  it  there  to  keep  it  safe." 

"  Is  the  grotto  just  the  same  ?  "  asked  Adele 


Across  Water  173 

wistfulty.  "  I  should  so  love  to  see  it.  I  wish  I 
could  come  over  just  for  a  minute.  Do  you 
think  I  might  ?  " 

Jessie  shook  her  head  decidedly.  "  No,  I  don't 
think  you  ought.  Of  course  I'd  love  to  have 
you,  but  it  would  be  disobeying ;  even  doing  it 
once  would  be  disobeying." 

"It  is  very  hard  to  be  perfectly  good,"  re- 
turned Adele  woefully. 

"  Yes,  it  is,"  sighed  Jessie,  "  but  when  we  are 
sure  a  thing  is  wrong  we  ought  not  to  do  it. 
Sometimes  you  aren't  quite  sure,  and  sometimes 
you  forget.  Forgetting  is  my  worst  sin,"  she 
added  solemnly. 

"  I  don't  know  what  mine  is,  my  very  worst,  I 
mean.  When  I  begin  to  think  about  them  I  am 
afraid  to  go  to  bed  at  night." 

"  Oh  !  Mother  always "  began  Jessie  and 

then  she  remembered  that  there  was  no  mother 
to  whom  Adele  could  unburden  her  conscience 
and  from  whom  she  could  receive  loving  advice 
and  comfort.  She  therefore  changed  the  subject 
quickly.  "  I  am  going  to  get  the  string  and  the 
chips,"  she  said,  "  and  I  will  send  you  over  a  load 
of  persimmons.  Do  you  like  them  ?  I  brought 


174  Playmate  Polly 

some  with  me  this  morning.  They  are  so 
good  now  that  we  have  had  frost.  I  don't 
suppose  I  can  send  more  than  one  or  two  at  a 
time." 

Adele  was  delighted  at  the  prospect  of  receiv- 
ing such  a  valuable  cargo  which  by  dint  of  a 
long  switch  Jessie  managed  to  pilot  safely  over 
to  a  spot  where  Adele  could  reach  it.  The  second 
expedition  was  not  so  successful,  however,  but 
was  lost  in  the  raging  torrent  before  it  was  half- 
way across.  When  a  vessel  is  only  six  inches 
long  it  is  very  hard  to  navigate  among  the  whirl- 
pools of  an  uncertain  stream.  Nevertheless  at 
least  half  a  dozen  persimmons  reached  the  other 
shore  and  were  duly  consumed  by  the  person  to 
whom  they  were  consigned. 

"  There  will  be  chestnuts  pretty  soon,"  said 
Jessie.  "  I  shouldn't  wonder  if  there  were  some 
now.  We  might  go  and  get  some.  Oh,  I  forgot 
they  are  on  this  side.  Never  mind,  I  will  get 
Sam  to  gather  some  and  to-morrow  I  can  send 
you  over  a  lot.  I  can  put  them  in  a  basket  and 
tie  the  basket  on  a  long  pole  and  in  that  way  I 
can  reach  them  over  to  you.  Oh,  I  wonder  if 
the  boys  took  all  those  they  gathered.  I  am  go- 


Across  Water  175 

ing  to  the  barn  to  see,  and  if  they  didn't  I'll 
bring  all  I  can.  Just  wait  a  minute." 

She  ran  off  to  the  barn  and  pretty  soon  came 
back.  She  stopped  on  the  way  to  put  something 
in  the  grotto,  and  then  went  on  to  the  brook 
with  a  small  covered  basket.  "  I'd  better  tie  it 
on  this  pole,"  she  said,  "  for  it  might  fall  off.  It  is 
full  of  chestnuts.  When  you  have  emptied  them 
send  the  basket  back  to  me,  and  I  will  put  some- 
thing else  in  it." 

"  What  will  you  put  in  it  ?  "  asked  Adele  watch- 
ing Jessie  tie  the  basket  securely  to  the  pole. 

"  That  is  a  secret,"  said  Jessie  laughing. 

By  going  upon  the  log  she  was  able  to  reach 
far  enough  so  that  Adele  could  get  the  basket 
which  was  unfastened  and  sent  back  after  it  had 
been  emptied  of  its  contents.  "  I  think  you  were 
lovely  to  send  me  all  these,"  said  Adele  de- 
lightedly. 

"  Oh,  we  shall  have  plenty  more,"  Jessie  told 
her.  "Sam  says  there  are  lots  down  in  the  big 
field.  You  shall  have  some  of  those,  too.  Now 
be  very  careful  when  you  untie  the  basket  this 
time.  It  isn't  for  you  to  keep  always,  but  only 
for  a  little  while." 


176  Playmate  Polly 

While  Adele  was  puzzling  over  this,  Jessie 
went  off  to  the  grotto  from  which  she  abstracted 
something.  She  kept  her  back  to  Adele,  and 
was  some  time  in  getting  the  basket  settled  to 
suit  her.  "  I  am  just  crazy  to  see  what  it  is,"  said 
Adele  excitedly. 

Jessie  laughed  and  this  time  went  further  out 
upon  the  log  carrying  the  pole  very  carefully  and 
reaching  it  out  to  where  Adele  stood  at  the  other 
end  of  the  log.  "  Go  a  little  further  away  when 
you  open  the  basket,"  she  suggested,  and  Adele, 
wondering,  obeyed. 

She  opened  the  lid  of  the  basket  and  peeped  in. 
"  Oh  ! "  she  cried,  "  how  lovely !  " 

"He  has  only  come  for  a  visit,"  said  Jessie 
hurriedly.  "  His  name  is  Cloudy,  you  know.  I 
thought  you  might  like  to  see  him." 

"  Isn't  he  a  darling  ?  "  said  Adele  snuggling  the 
kitten  up  against  her  face. 

Jessie  watched  her  with  a  serious  countenance. 
Presently  she  said  rather  breathlessly,  ""Would 
you  like  to  call  him  half  yours  ?  I  don't  believe 
I  could  give  him  to  you  altogether,  but  we  might 
go  shares,  you  know." 

Adele  sat  down  with  the  kitten  in  her  lap. 


Across  Water  177 

"  Jessie  Loorais,  I  think  you  are  the  dearest  girl 
that  ever  lived,"  she  said  earnestly,  "  and  I  should 
love  to  corae  over  there  and  hug  you,  but  I  won't, 
because  I  must  be  good.  No,  I  won't  let  you 
give  me  even  half  the  kitten,  but  I  do  love  to 
have  him  come  over  for  a  visit.  See,  he  is  sleepy. 
Shall  I  put  him  back  in  the  basket  and  let  him 
have  a  nap  ?  " 

"He  has  just  had  a  big  saucer  of  milk,"  said 
Jessie,  "  but  he  is  very  playful  most  of  the  time. 
You  might  let  him  have  a  little  nap,  and  I  will 
find  something  else  to  send  over  to  you." 

"No,  let  me  send  something  this  time;  you 
have  done  it  all,"  said  Adele.  "  I'll  go  up  to  the 
house  in  a  minute  and  get  something.  Would 
you  mind  if  I  took  Cloudy  to  show  to  Aunt  Betty 
and  Miss  Eloise  ?  I  won't  let  anything  happen  to 
him  and  I'll  bring  him  right  back." 

"  Of  course  you  may  take  him,"  Jessie  con- 
sented generously.  And  carrying  the  basket 
steadily,  Adele  sped  away. 

She  was  not  gone  very  long  and  when  she 
oame  back  she  brought  a  small  paper  bag  of  cakes 
and  another  of  candies  which  were  promptly  des- 
patched across  the  watery  way  to  Jessie;  but 


178  Playmate  Polly 

as  Cloudy  was  asleep  in  the  basket  the  little  bags 
themselves  were  tied  on  the  pole  and  were  trans- 
ported in  that  way. 

"Aunt  Betty  said  Cloudy  was  lovely,"  said 
Adele,  "  and  he  behaved  beautifully.  I  told  her 
how  generous  you  offered  to  be,  and  she  sent  her 
love  to  you." 

"  What  did  Miss  Eloise  say  ?  " 

"  She  wasn't  there.  Aunt  Betty  said  she  had 
gone  somewhere,  but  she  didn't  say  where.  I 
asked  Aunt  Betty  if  she  thought  papa  would 
bring  me  a  kitten  from  the  city,  and  she  said  he 
was  going  to  bring  me  a  big  dog  in  place  of 
Dapple  Gray.  I'd  love  a  big  dog." 

"  But  where  is  Dapple  Gray  ?  "  asked  Jessie. 

"  He's  been  sent  away,"  said  Adele  in  a  low 
voice.  "Papa  said  as  long  as  I  couldn't  be 
trusted  that  I  couldn't  have  him  to  drive  till  I 
was  old  enough  to  have  common  sense,  and  so  he 
has  sent  him  to  my  cousin  till  my  sense  grows 
enough  for  me  to  have  him  again.  Do  you  sup- 
pose common  sense  does  grow  ?  " 

"I  think  it  must,"  returned  Jessie  thought- 
fully,  "  for  all  grown  people  have  it." 

"  I  don't  believe  they  do,"  said  Adele,  "  for  I 


Across  Water  179 

have  heard  papa  say  ever  so  many  times  that  So- 
and-So  had  not  a  grain  of  common  sense,  and  So- 
and-So  would  be  a  big  man,  too." 

""Well,  may  be  they  get  it  and  then  lose  it," 
replied  Jessie,  "  like  some  persons  do  their  hair. 
Some  persons  have  a  great  deal,  and  others  are 
quite  bald,  you  know,  like  Dr.  Sadtler." 

This  seemed  a  reasonable  conclusion  and  Adele 
accepted  it.  "  Well,"  she  said,  "  I  hope  if  I  ever 
do  get  my  common  sense  that  it  will  be  nice  and 
thick  and  long  like  Miss  Eloise's  hair." 

"  Is  your  cousin  a  little  girl  ?  "  asked  Jessie  re- 
turning to  her  thoughts  of  Dapple  Gray. 

"  No,  he  is  a  little  boy,  and  he  has  been  very 
ill,  so  papa  said  it  would  be  a  great  comfort  to 
him  to  have  a  little  pony  like  that." 

"  Is  he  a  big  boy  ?  "  asked  Jessie. 

"About  as  big  as  your  brother  Max." 

"  He  will  hate  to  give  Dapple  Gray  up  ?  "  said 
Jessie. 

"  Maybe  he  will  be  strong  and  well  again  by 
the  time  my  common  sense  gets  here,"  said 
Adele.  "  I  hope  that  won't  be  so  very  long." 

"  I  hope  so,  too,"  replied  Jessie,  thinking  more 
of  Dapple  Gray  than  of  Adele's  development. 


180  Playmate  Potty 

"Cloudy  is  waking  up,"  said  Adele.  "Pd 
better  send  him  back  to  you." 

"  Tie  the  basket  on  very  strongly,"  said  Jessie, 
"  so  it  can't  fall  in  the  water." 

But  though  Adele  tied  the  basket  securely 
enough,  she  was  not  quite  so  certain  of  her  own 
footing,  her  useless  arm  causing  her  to  lose  her 
balance,  and  in  regaining  it  she  allowed  the  pole 
to  drop  so  far  that  the  basket  was  dipped  into  the 
water,  though  fortunately  not  so  far  that  Cloudy 
received  more  wetting  than  gave  him  two  drip- 
ping paws. 

"  Oh,  dear,  I  am  so  relieved,"  said  A.dele.  "  I 
thought  he  was  drowned.  "Why  am  I  always 
doing  such  dreadful  things  ?  " 

"You  couldn't  help  it,"  Jessie  assured  her. 
"  You  have  only  one  arm,  you  see,  and  it  was 
very  hard  to  manage  that  long  pole."  She  dried 
Cloudy's  paws  on  her  handkerchief  and  then  cud- 
dled him  under  her  jacket.  "  I  think  I  shall  have 
to  carry  him  up  to  the  house,"  she  said,  "  for  he 
might  take  cold.  Besides,  I  am  sure  it  must  be 
nearly  dinner  time." 

"We  have  had  a  perfectly  lovely  time,"  re- 
turned Adele.  "I  was  so  miserable  last  night 


Across  Water  181 

when  I  went  to  bed,  and  I  cried  myself  to 
sleep." 

"  What  made  you  so  miserable  ?  " 

"  Why,  you  see  Dapple  Gray  went  away  yes- 
terday afternoon,  and  I  felt  so  lonely  when  I 
thought  I  couldn't  have  you  or  him  either.  I  am 
so  glad  you  came  down  to  the  brook  this  morn- 
ing. Will  you  come  again  this  afternoon  ?  " 

"  If  mother  says  I  may." 

"  Are  you  going  to  tell  her  ?  " 

"  Tell  her  what  ?  " 

"  That  you  have  been  playing  with  me  all  the 
morning." 

"Of  course  I  shall  tell  her.  I  tell  her  every- 
thing, and  you  know  we  have  minded  exactly, 
for  neither  one  of  us  has  crossed  the  brook. 
Mother  never  said  I  couldn't  talk  to  you ;  she 
only  said  I  was  not  to  go  over  to  your  place." 

"  And  Aunt  Betty  said  I  mustn't  go  to  your 
place,  so  we  really  have  minded  them,  haven't 
we  ?  " 

"I  should  think  we  had,"  replied  Jessie. 
"  Good-bye." 

"  Good-bye,"  responded  Adele.  And  both  lit- 
tle girls  went  off  feeling  very  virtuous. 


182  Playmate  Polly 

Jessie  did  not  delay  in  telling  her  mother  all 
about  the  morning's  meeting.  "Do  you  mind, 
mother  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  No,"  answered  her  mother.  "  I  don't  think 
I  do  in  the  least.  I  see  that  you  both  meant  to 
be  obedient,  and  I  think  the  hard  lesson  Adele 
has  had  promises  to  do  her  a  great  deal  of  good." 

"I  feel  so  sorry  for  her,  oh,  so  sorry,"  said 
Jessie  thoughtfully.  "  She  cried  herself  to  sleep 
last  night  because  she  was  so  lonely.  If  she  had 
had  you,  mother,  to  tuck  her  up  and  kiss  her 
good-night  and  to  make  her  feel  comfortable  in- 
side, as  you  do  me  after  I  have  been  naughty,  she 
wouldn't  have  felt  so." 

"  Poor  little  child,"  said  Mrs.  Loomis  compas- 
sionately. 

"  I  think  she  loves  me  very  much,"  said  Jessie, 
"and  she  did  just  as  I  told  her  was  right  this 
morning.  She  never  said  one  word  about  Polly 
or  Peter  Pan,  either.  Don't  you  think  I  can  be 
friends  with  her  again,  mother  ?  " 

"  I  think  you  can,  for  I  am  sure  that  you 
can  do  a  great  deal  for  her.  It  is  evident  that 
she  has  never  been  used  to  giving  her  confidences 
to  her  aunt,  and  so  far,  Miss  Eloise  has  not  been 


Across  Water  183 

able  to  win  them.  I  think  Miss  Eloise  will  in 
time,  and  meanwhile  we  must  do  all  we  can. 
Miss  Eloise  was  here  this  morning,  dearie." 

"  Was  she  ?  Then  that  is  why  she  was  not  at 
home  when  Adele  took  Cloudy  up  to  show  her. 
What  did  she  say,  mother  ?  " 

"  She  said  a  great  many  things,  and  some  things 
she  said  made  me  decide  to  let  you  begin  your  les- 
sons again,  but  I  would  rather  you  did  not  spend 
too  much  time  at  the  yellow  house.  If  you  go 
there  in  the  morning,  that  will  be  enough,  and  in 
the  afternoon  it  will  be  better  for  Adele  to  come 
here  to  play  with  you.  I  think  it  is  getting  too 
cold  to  play  by  the  brook,  but  there  is  the  attic 
where  you  can  be  perfectly  safe.  I  will  have 
one  end  cleared  for  you,  and  you  can  have  all 
your  playthings  up  there."  Jessie  threw  her 
arms  around  her  mother's  neck.  "  You  are  just 
the  dearest  mother  in  the  world,"  she  cried.  "  I 
wish  Adele  had  one  exactly  like  you.  May  I  just 
go  down  to  the  brook  a  few  minutes  this  after- 
noon and  tell  her,  and  may  I  bring  her  back  with 
me?" 

Mrs.  Loomis  smiled  down  at  the  eager  face  as 
she  gave  her  consent. 


184  Playmate  Polly 

"  Just  one  thing  more,"  said  Jessie.  "  Do  you 
mind  if  I  stay  long  enough  to  shut  up  Peter 
Pan's  house  for  the  winter  ?  It  won't  take  long." 

"  No,  Miss  Wendy,  I  don't  mind,  if  you  will 
promise  to  mind  the  tree  tops." 

Jessie  laughed,  and  felt  very  thankful  that  she 
had  such  a  mother. 


CHAPTER  XI 
Who  Took  the  Spoons) 


CHAPTER  XI 
Who  Took  the  Spoons? 

LESSONS  began  again  the  next  day,  and  this 
time  continued  without  interruption  until  the 
holidays.  It  would  not  be  quite  true  to  say  that 
there  were  never  any  more  tantrums,  but  it  is  a 
fact  that  they  were  less  violent,  and  occurred  less 
frequently.  Adele  really  was  trying  to  improve, 
and  if  Jessie  herself  once  in  a  while  had  what 
Adele  called  "  the  pouts "  and  always  mocked 
and  made  fun  of  her,  Jessie  was  ashamed  to 
continue  them  for  very  long,  for  she  hated  to  be 
made  fun  of.  The  two  had  their  little  quarrels, 
to  be  sure,  and  sometimes  did  not  speak  for  as 
much  as  a  whole  day,  but  night  usually  brought 
regret  and  the  next  morning  each  would  be  eager 
to  make  up. 

One  day  Jessie  coming  home  from  school  found 
her  mother  counting  the  silver.  "  Jessie,"  she 
said,  "do  you  remember  taking  any  of  these 
small  teaspoons  at  any  time  ?  " 

"  Why  no,  mother,"  returned   Jessie.     "  I   al- 


i88  Playmate  Polly 

ways  have  a  kitchen  spoon,  you  know,  and  I 
haven't  had  one  of  those  for  a  long  time,  not 
since  that  day  I  had  the  marmalade  down  by  the 
brook." 

"  I  don't  see  where  they  can  have  gone,"  said 
Mrs.  Loomis.  "  There  are  two  missing,  and  I 
am  sure  they  were  all  here  last  week.  Minerva 
is  very  careful  and  I  don't  think  she  could  pos- 
sibly have  thrown  them  out.  You  are  quite  sure 
that  you  and  Adele  have  not  had  them  up  in  the 
attic  ?  " 

"  I  am  quite  sure,"  returned  Jessie,  "  but  I  will 
go  and  look." 

"  I  wish  you  would,"  said  her  mother. 

Jessie  trudged  up  to  the  attic  and  searched 
among  the  playthings,  but  there  were  no  spoons 
to  be  seen.  She  went  back  to  her  mother. 
"  They  are  not  there,"  she  said.  "  Adele  and  I 
haven't  had  anything  but  dolls'  parties  up  there, 
and  then  we  used  the  spoons  that  belong  to  the 
play  tea-set." 

"I  cannot  think  where  they  can  be,"  re- 
peated Mrs.  Loomis. 

"  Perhaps  the  boys  had  them  down  at  the  barn 
or  somewhere,"  suggested  Jessie. 


Who  Took  the  Spoons  ?          189 

"But  I  have  counted  them  since  they  went 
back  to  school,  and  they  were  all  here.  I  have 
looked  everywhere  I  can  think  of,  and  so  has 
Minerva.  They  are  never  taken  to  the  kitchen 
except  to  be  washed,  and  the  only  person  who 
has  been  along  is  that  old  peddler  who  comes 
with  tins  sometimes.  I  have  always  thought 
him  an  honest  old  soul,  as  peddlers  go,  but  I  can 
think  of  no  one  else." 

"  I  don't  believe  it  was  the  peddler,"  said  Jes- 
sie. "  He  has  been  coming  here  for  a  long  time, 
and  he  is  always  very  nice  and  kind.  He  gave 
me  a  ring  with  a  blue  set  in  it  one  day  because 
he  said  he  liked  little  girls,  and  that  he  once  had 
a  little  daughter  about  my  age  who  died.  I  am 
sure  it  couldn't  be  the  peddler." 

"  It  doesn't  seem  to  me  so  either,"  returned 
Mrs.  Loornis,  "  but  where  are  the  spoons  ?  " 

Jessie  shook  her  head,  and  the  loss  remained  a 
mystery,  for  no  amount  of  searching  brought 
them  to  light.  It  even  became  more  and  more 
mystifying,  for  in  a  few  da}rs  a  little  coffee- 
spoon  was  missing.  It  was  a  souvenir  spoon 
which  had  been  sent  to  Mrs.  Loomis  by  her 
sister,  and  had  been  left  on  Mrs.  Loomis's 


190  Playmate  Polly 

dressing  bureau  after  the  box  containing  it  was 
opened. 

"  This  is  more  and  more  perplexing,"  said  Mrs. 
Loomis,  "  for  I  know  positively  that  I  left  it  in 
my  room,  and  who  in  the  world  could  go  up 
there  without  my  knowledge  ?  " 

This  was  the  last  spoon  taken,  and  although 
the  matter  was  not  forgotten  it  was  after  a  while 
dropped,  all  concluding  that  in  some  unexplained 
way  the  spoons  had  fallen  behind  the  surbase  or 
through  a  crack  in  the  floor.  This  might  ex- 
plain the  disappearance  of  the  teaspoons,  for 
there  was  a  large  crack  in  the  kitchen  floor  near 
the  fireplace,  but  it  could  not  account  for  the 
coffee-spoon.  "I'll  have  that  board  in  the 
kitchen  taken  up  in  the  spring,"  said  Mr.  Loomis. 
"  We  don't  want  to  take  the  stove  down  now, 
and  no  doubt  you  will  find  the  other  in  your 
room  somewhere  when  the  spring  cleaning  is 
done."  So  the  matter  rested. 

When  Jessie  told  Adele  about  the  loss  she  de- 
clared that  Playmate  Polly  had  taken  them.  It 
was  her  way  to  charge  Playmate  Polly  with  all 
sorts  of  evil  traits,  and  the  two  little  girls  quar- 
reled upon  this  subject  oftener  than  any  other, 


Who  Took  the  Spoons?  191 

absurd  as  it  was.  If  Adele  wanted  to  tease 
Jessie  she  had  but  to  say  something  disagree- 
able about  Playmate  Polly,  and  Jessie's  anger 
would  rise,  so  that  it  finally  became  as  a  red  rag 
to  a  bull,  and  the  more  Adele  teased  the  more  Jes- 
sie resented  it. 

They  seldom  played  by  the  brook  now,  but  the 
attic  was  a  great  source  of  pleasure.  It  \vas  well 
heated  by  a  register,  so  there  was  no  danger  that 
the  children  should  take  cold  A  set  of  shelves 
on  one  side  made  a  fine  playhouse,  and  Sam  had 
made  a  low  table  of  just  the  proper  height.  It 
was  a  rough  sort  of  affair,  but  served  its  purpose. 
The  legs  of  two  old  chairs  were  sawed  down  to 
suit  the  children  and  a  bit  of  old  carpet  was 
spread  upon  the  floor,  so  they  considered  that  the 
playroom  was  finely  furnished.  Minerva  put  up 
a  little  white  curtain  at  the  window,  and  would 
always  remember  them  on  baking  days  with  a 
little  pie,  a  pan  of  tiny  rolls,  or  some  small  cakes, 
so  that  Saturday  was  feast  day  as  well  as  holiday. 

One  Saturday  the  two  children  were  sitting  at 
the  table  coloring  some  pictures  in  a  couple  of 
old  magazines.  Mr.  Hallett  had  brought  them 
each  a  small  paint  box  the  night  before  and  they 


192  Playmate  Polly 

took  this  first  opportunity  of  trying  their  powers. 
Cloudy,  attired  in  the  long  white  frock  belonging 
to  Jessie's  baby  doll,  was  asleep  in  an  improvised 
crib  made  of  a  small  stool  turned  upside  down. 
He  seemed  perfectly  satisfied  and  was  having  a 
good  nap.  Charity  sat  by  his  side  in  the  charac- 
ter of  nurse,  and  Peter  Pan  was  sitting  in  a  swing 
which  hung  from  the  rafters. 

"  I  think  I  shall  put  a  red  frock  on  my  lady," 
Adele  said. 

"  I  tried  red,"  said  Jessie,  "  but  it  doesn't  go 
very  well.  It  is  kind  of  thick  and  messy  looking. 
I  believe  I  will  try  this  yellow."  They  worked 
away  for  a  few  moments,  very  much  absorbed  in 
their  painting,  but  they  were  interrupted  by  a 
faint  mew  from  the  crib.  "  The  baby  is  waking 
up,"  said  Jessie,  "  and  he  can't  walk  about  very 
well  in  that  long  frock.  I  shall  have  to  take  it 
off,  I  suppose,  so  he  can  run  about." 

"  But  he  does  look  so  cunning  in  it,"  said  Adele 
admiringly. 

"  I  know  he  does,  and  I  can  put  it  on  again 
after  a  while,  but  mother  says  I  have  no  right  to 
make  him  uncomfortable,  and  to  keep  him  from 
playing  when  he  wants  to,  so  it  will  have  to  come 


Who  Took  the  Spoons?  193 

off,  and  when  he  gets  sleepy  I  can  put  it  on  again. 
Oh,  what's  that  ?  " 

Adele  ran  to  the  window  and  drew  aside  the 
curtain.  "  Why,  it's  Eb,"  she  exclaimed.  "  He 
is  pecking  at  the  window.  He  wants  to  come  in. 
Shall  I  open  the  window,  Jessie  ?" 

"  Why,  yes.  It  won't  do  any  harm  to  let  him 
stay  with  us.  I  wonder  how  he  found  his  way. 
You  might  leave  the  window  open,  Adele.  It  is 
real  warm  to-day  and  then  he  can  go  out  when 
he  wants  to." 

"  I  see  how  he  came,"  said  Adele  looking  out 
the  window. 

"  He  couldn't  fly  as  high  as  this  with  his  wings 
clipped." 

"  No,  but  he  could  fly  as  high  as  the  smoke- 
house door.  It  is  open,  you  see,  and  then  he 
could  fly  on  the  roof,  and  from  there  to  the 
branch  of  that  big  tree.  He  could  walk  along 
the  branch,  you  see,  and  get  up  here." 

"  So  he  could,  quite  easily,  and  I  suppose  that 
is  the  way  he  came.  It  is  the  first  time  he  has 
found  us.  See  how  pleased  he  is,"  for  Eb  was 
walking  about  in  the  most  insinuating  manner, 
dipping  and  curtseying  and  making  enticing  lit- 


194  Playmate  Polly 

tie  sounds.  "  Don't  let  him.  drink  the  paint  water, 
Adele ;  it  might  make  him  ill.  No,  Eb,  you  can't 
have  that,"  for  Eb,  attracted  by  the  bright  colors 
in  the  box,  was  trying  to  peck  at  them.  Jessie 
shut  her  box,  and  Adele  did  likewise.  Then  Eb 
spied  the  kitten  and  sidled  up  to  him.  The  girls 
watched  the  two  in  their  funny  antics  until 
they  heard  Minerva  calling  at  the  foot  cf  the 
stairs. 

Jessie  ran  down  to  her,  and  presently  came 
back  with  a  little  apple  pie  which  she  set  on  the 
table.  "Doesn't  it  look  good?"  she  said. 
"Shall  we  eat  it  now?" 

"  "We  might  as  well,"  returned  Adele. 

"  I  brought  up  some  milk  for  the  kitten,"  said 
Jessie,  "  so  he  can  sit  on  one  side  the  table  and 
Eb  on  the  other.  I  have  a  stale  crust  up  here 
that  I  will  soak  in  the  milk  and  give  to  Eb.  He 
will  like  that."  So  the  funny  company  sat  down 
together,  the  kitten  perched  on  a  high  box  with 
a  small  saucer  of  milk  before  him,  Eb  with  his 
soaked  crust  on  a  piece  of  pasteboard,  and  the 
two  girls,  each  with  half  a  pie.  Eb  was  the  first 
to  finish  his  meal  and  then  he  flew  down  to  see 
what  other  entertainment  the  place  afforded.  He 


Who  Stole  the  Spoons?  195 

went  prying  around  for  a  few  minutes  before  he 
spied  A  dele's  paint  brush  which  she  had  neglected 
to  put  away.  The  piece  of  bright  metal  at  one 
end  attracted  him  and  in  a  moment  he  was  upon 
the  window  sill  with  the  brush  in  his  beak.  Jes- 
sie spied  him  just  as  he  was  about  to  take  flight, 

"  Oh,  see  what  Eb  has  ! "  she  cried.  "  Shut 
the  window  quick  !  " 

Adele,  who  was  nearest,  jumped  up,  but  Eb 
was  too  quick  for  her  and  was  beyond  reach  be- 
fore she  could  get  to  him.  "  He's  gone,"  she 
cried.  "  He  has  gone  off  with  my  brush.  How 
shall  we  get  it  ?  " 

"  You  stay  here  and  watch  him,"  said  Jessie, 
"and  I  will  go  down  and  see  if  I  can  grab  him  be- 
fore he  gets  away  with  it." 

She  ran  down-stairs  while  Adele  watched  from 
the  window.  Still  carrying  the  brush,  Eb 
walked  across  the  roof  to  the  limb  of  the  tree 
which  overhung  one  side  of  the  house.  He  took 
a  short  flight  to  the  limb,  walked  along  it,  flew 
to  the  smokehouse  and  stood  there.  The  door, 
however,  was  shut  by  now,  and  he  \vas  not  sure 
that  he  could  venture  to  fly  down  from  the  roof. 
Now  was  Jessie's  time.  She  ran  to  the  kitchen. 


196  Playmate  Polly 

"  Give  me  some  dough  or  corn  bread,  or  some- 
thing, quick,  Minerva,"  she  said. 

Minerva  picked  up  a  piece  of  corn  bread  from 
a  plate  and  gave  it  to  her.  "  What  in  the  world 
is  the  matter  with  the  child  ?  "  she  said  as  Jessie 
scurried  out.  She  followed  the  little  girl  to 
where  she  stood  crumbling  the  corn  bread  into 
one  palm.  "  "Well,  I  declare,"  she  said.  "  What 
has  he  got  now  ?  " 

"  Adele's  paint  brush,"  Jessie  told  her.  "  Come, 
Eb.  Come  get  some  nice  supper." 

Eb  cocked  his  head  to  one  side,  and  regarded 
the  outstretched  hand  for  a  moment,  then  he 
dropped  the  paint  brush  and  flew  down  to  Jessie's 
shoulder.  The  paint  brush  rolled  down  from  the 
roof  to  the  ground.  Scattering  the  crumbs  be- 
fore him,  Jessie  set  Eb  down,  and  ran  back, 
stopping  under  the  window  from  which  Adele 
was  looking  and  calling  up  to  her,  "  Here  it  is. 
I  made  him  drop  it." 

"  I'll  come  down  and  get  it,"  replied  Adele. 

"  Bring  Cloudy  with  you,"  Jessie  called  back. 

In  a  few  minutes  Adele  appeared  with  Cloudy 
in  her  arms.  "  I  shut  the  window,"  she  said.  "  It 
is  getting  dark  up  there,  and  I  suppose  I  shall 


Whc  Stole  the  Spoons?  197 

have  Angeline  coming  for  me  in  a  few  minutes. 
I  am  glad  you  were  able  to  make  Eb  give  up  the 
brush.  What  do  you  suppose  he  was  going  to  do 
with  it  ?  Isn't  he  getting  to  be  a  thief  ?  " 

"  He  certainly  is,"  said  Jessie.  "  I  suppose  he 
was  going  to  hide  it  somewhere." 

"  I  wonder  where  ?  " 

"  I'm  sure  I  don't  know.  Where  do  you  sup- 
pose he  would  hide  things,  Minerva  ?  " 

"  Bless  me,  I'm  sure  I  can't  tell.  Well,  there, 
I  shouldn't  be  the  least  surprised  if  he  was  the 
one  that  stole  those  spoons.  It  is  a  wonder  none 
of  us  thought  of  that.  It's  only  lately  he's  taken 
to  carrying  off  things,  though.  He  tried  to  get 
my  thimble  off  my  finger  yesterday." 

"  I'm  going  right  in  to  tell  mother  about  him," 
said  Jessie,  "  and  maybe  we  can  find  the  spoons 
if  he  has  hidden  them." 

Minerva  followed  the  two  children  into  tfae 
sitting-room,  where  Mrs.  Loomis  was  told  of  the 
suspicion  which  rested  upon  Eb.  "Well,  I  de- 
clare," she  said.  "  I  verily  believe  he  is  the 
thief.  We  must  watch  him,  and  see  where  he 
goes.  Keep  your  eyes  open,  children,  and  perhaps 
we  can  trace  him." 


198  Playmate  Polly 

However,  Eb  was  much  too  sly  to  be  dis- 
covered at  once,  and  despite  all  their  efforts  they 
could  not  find  out  where  he  made  a  hiding-place 
for  his  treasures.  He  was  even  given  the  chance 
to  carry  away  certain  articles,  but  as  soon  as  he 
saw  that  he  was  followed  he  would  drop  what  he 
carried  and  would  fly  off  with  a  caw  of  derision. 
"  He  is  the  cleverest  creature  I  ever  saw,"  de- 
clared Minerva.  "  There  is  no  catching  him  nap- 
ping. I  let  him  carry  off  a  piece  of  my  red 
worsted  this  morning,  and  would  you  believe  it,  he 
dropped  it  on  the  step  as  soon  as  I  opened  the  door." 

"  We'll  catch  him  unawares  some  time,"  said 
Sam. 

But  as  if  he  knew  himself  suspected,  Eb  con- 
tinued to  behave  with  such  secrecy  that  no  one 
could  say  that  he  was  really  the  thief,  and  finally 
Jessie  declared  that  she  didn't  believe  he  was 
guilty  at  all,  and  she  told  Adele  so. 

"  No,  I  don't  believe  it  is  he,"  Adele  answered 
with  a  gleam  of  mischief  in  her  eye.  "  I  have  al- 
ways believed  it  is  Polly.  I  saw  Eb  sitting  on 
her  head  whispering  things  in  her  ear  one  day, 
when  I  was  coming  to  your  house,  so  maybe  he 
puts  her  up  to  it." 


Who  Stole  the  Spoons?  199 

"  You  are  so  silly,  Adele,"  returned  Jessie  im- 
patiently, and  turning  away. 

Adele  ran  after.  "  Don't  get  mad,  Jessie. 
Please  don't.  I  was  only  fooling,  but  it  is  such 
fun  to  pretend  things  about  Polty.  If  you  won't 
get  mad,  I  will  tell  you  a  secret ;  a  very  great 
secret.  Say  you  aren't  mad." 

"  I'm  not  so  very  mad,"  Jessie  answered,  the 
prospect  of  a  secret  being  more  than  she  could 
withstand. 

The  children  were  in  the  attic  snuggled  near 
the  heater,  for  it  had  suddenly  grown  quite  cold. 
"  Guess  who  the  secret  is  about,"  said  Adele. 

"  About  us  ?  " 

"  You  and  me,  do  you  mean  ?     "Well,  partly." 

"  Is  Dapple  Gray  coming  home  ?  " 

Adele  looked  grave.  "  No,  not  yet,  though 
papa  said  the  other  day  that  he  was  very  sure  I 
could  have  him  some  time,  if  I  kept  on  improving 
I'll  tell  you  who  the  secret  is  about  and  then  you 
can  guess  some  more.  It  is  about  Miss  Eloise." 

"  Is  she  going  away  ?  "  asked  Jessie  in  alarm, 
for  she  had  become  very  fond  of  her  teacher. 

Adele  shook  her  head.  "  No,  at  least  she  if/ 
and  she  isn't." 


200  Playmate  Polly 

"  I  don't  see  how  that  could  be." 

"  Don't  you  ?  I  do.  She  might  be  going  away 
from  our  house  but  not  from  the  neighborhood." 

"  Why  should  she  do  that  ?  Oh,  do  tell  me, 
Adele.  I  can't  possibly  guess." 

"  Well,"  agreed  Adele,  "  it  is  this  way.  Miss 
Eloise  is  engaged  to  be  married  to  a  professor  or 
teacher  or  something.  He  has  been  here  to  see 
her,  and,  what  do  you  think  ?  If  they  can  find 
a  house  big  enough  near  here  they  are  going  to 
take  it  and  have  a  school  next  year,  and  I  shall 
go  to  it.  Papa  is  so  pleased,  because  he  says  he 
will  never  have  to  send  me  away  to  school  then." 

"  Shall  you  like  going  to  a  man  ?  "  asked  Jessie 
somewhat  disturbed. 

"  Oh,  the  teachers  won't  all  be  men,"  said 
Adele,  "  and  I  like  Mr.  Davis  very  much.  So  will 
you,  for  of  course  you  will  go,  won't  you  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know.     Where  will  the  school  be  ?  " 

"  They  can't  tell  till  they  see  what  house  they 
can  get." 

Jessie  was  thoughtful  for  a  moment,  then 
presently  she  cried,  "  I  know.  I  know  just  the 
place.  It  isn't  very  far  from  here.  We  can  see 
it  from  the  window,  now  that  the  trees  are  bare. 


Who  Stole  the  Spoons?  201 

It  is  a  great  big  white  house  with  ever  so  many 
rooms  in  it.  Father  knows  all  about  it.  It  is 
this  side  the  railroad  track,  so  I  could  go  there." 

"  Oh,  come,  let's  go  tell  Miss  Eloise,"  said 
Adele  with  an  eagerness  which  seemed  to  sug- 
gest that  perhaps  the  house  would  disappear 
over  night.  And  the  two  sought  Miss  Eloise 
without  delay. 

"I've  told  Jessie  your  secret,"  said  Adele 
bursting  in  upon  her  teacher,  "  and  she  knows 
exactly  the  house  for  you  and  Mr.  Davis.  Her 
father  can  tell  you  all  about  it." 

Miss  Eloise  looked  up  from  her  embroidery,  a 
little  flush  mounting  to  her  cheek.  "  What  do 
you  think  of  my  secret,  Jessie  ?  "  she  asked  draw- 
ing the  little  girl  to  her  side. 

"  I  think  it  is  a  very  nice  one  for  Mr.  Davis," 
she  answered. 

Miss  Eloise  laughed,  and  Miss  Betty  said,  "  I 
must  tell  him  that." 

"  Why  don't  you  think  it  is  nice  for  me  ? " 
Miss  Eloise  asked  Jessie. 

"  Maybe  I  shall  think  it  is  nice  if  you  live  in 
*  The  Beeches,'  "  she  said. 

"Then  we  surely  must  see  about  it.     Is  the 


202  Playmate  Polly 

name  of  the  place  *  The  Beeches,'  and  is  it  near 
here?" 

"  It  is  just  beyond  our  place,"  Jessie  told  her, 
"  but  the  house  hasn't  been  lived  in  for  a  long 
time.  The  man  who  owns  it  has  gone  abroad 
and  wants  to  sell  it.  My  father  can  tell  you  all 
about  it,  for  we  have  the  keys  at  our  house." 

"Then  we  must  certainly  see  about  it,"  said 
Miss  Eloise,  turning  to  Miss  Betty.  ''  That  would 
just  suit,  Betty,  and  I  should  rather  be  on  this 
side  the  railroad,  for  then  we  should  be  between 
Appledore  and  Fulton  so  we  could  control  both. 
Thank  you,  Jessie,  for  coming  to  tell  me.  Of 
course  we  shall  not  open  our  school  till  next  fall, 
but  if  the  house  is  out  of  repair  it  will  take  some 
time  to  put  it  in  order,  and  one  should  be  in  plenty 
of  time  for  such  things.  Must  you  go  now  ?  " 

"Yes,  it  is  getting  late,"  said  Jessie,  "and  I 
mustn't  be  out  after  dark." 

"  I  hope  you  are  bundled  up  warm,"  said  Miss 
Betty,  "  for  it  is  getting  so  cold." 

"  I'll  run  all  the  way,"  said  Jessie,  "  and  that 
will  keep  me  warm."  She  made  her  adieux  and 
started  off,  her  thoughts  full  of  Miss  Eloise  and 
her  secret. 


CHAPTER  XII 
What  Was  Found  Out 


CHAPTER 
What  Was  Found  Oat 

THAT  winter  had  really  come  was  made  ap- 
parent the  next  morning  when  a  light  fall  of 
snow  covered  the  ground.  Jessie  looked  out  of 
her  window  and  saw  that  Playmate  Polly  wore 
a  white  hood  and  that  a  scarf  of  snow  hung  down 
on  one  side  of  her.  "I  think  it  looks  rather 
well,"  said  Jessie  to  herself.  "I  wonder  if 
mother  will  let  me  go  where  I  can  see  closer.  I 
have  never  been  to  Polly's  in  winter  time.  I 
wish  it  were  Saturday." 

She  was  so  excited  over  the  new  snow  that  she 
could  scarcely  wait  till  breakfast  was  over  to  go 
down  the  hill  toward  the  brook.  Mrs.  Loomis 
consented  to  her  making  a  short  call  upon  Play- 
mate Polly.  "  For  I  do  so  want  to  see  her  white 
hood,"  said  Jessie,  "and  I  will  wear  my  rubbers 
so  I  shall  not  get  my  feet  wet.  If  Adele  comes 
tell  her  I  will  be  back  in  five  minutes,  or  may  I 
stay  ten  minutes,  mother  ?  " 


206  Playmate  Polly 

"  Not  longer,"  her  mother  told  her. 

She  set  off  over  the  untrodden  snow  that  lay 
between  the  house  and  the  fence,  but  beyond 
this  she  discovered  that  some  one  had  been  be- 
fore her,  for  there  were  footprints  in  the  snow, 
queer  little  footprints  that  went  on  for  a  short 
distance  and  then  stopped  beginning  again  fur- 
ther on. 

"  Eb  has  been  down  to  see  Polly,"  said  Jessie 
to  herself.  She  ran  on  leaving  her  own  foot- 
prints by  the  side  of  Eb's  and  when  she  was 
within  a  little  distance  of  the  row  of  willows,  she 
saw  that  Eb  was  sitting  on  Polly's  head,  and 
was,  as  Adele  said,  whispering  in  her  ear.  Jes- 
sie stood  still  for  a  moment  to  watch  him,  and 
while  she  was  looking  suddenly  he  disappeared. 
Jessie  was  astonished.  "Where  in  the  world 
has  he  gone  ?  "  she  exclaimed.  "  I  saw  him  and 
then  I  didn't  see  him.  I  must  go  right  there  and 
ask  Polly  about  it."  She  went  on  toward  the 
tree  and  presently  discovered  that  which  had  the 
appearance  of  a  hood  when  she  saw  it  from  her 
window  had  now  changed  into  a  wreath  upon 
Polly's  head.  "  I  think  that  is  vary  funny,"  said 
Jessie. 


What  Was  Found  Oat  207 

She  went  close  to  the  tree  and  looked  up,  and 
while  she  was  looking,  out  popped  Eb's  black 
head  from  the  centre  of  the  wreath  of  snow.  At 
sight  of  Jessie  he  began  to  scold  and  repeat  his 
"Hallo "a  great  many  times.  "I  do  believe 
there  is  a  hole  there,"  said  Jessie.  "I  never 
knew  that  before,  but  then  I  am  not  tall  enough 
to  see  over  the  top  of  your  head,  Polly.  That  is 
why  you  have  a  wreath  instead  of  a  hood.  I 
wish  I  could  see  in."  She  looked  at  Eb  who  was 
strutting  uneasily  about,  and  an  idea  came  to 
her.  "I  do  believe,  Ebon}7  Loomis,"  she  ex- 
claimed, "  that  is  where  you  hide  things  !  " 

Full  of  this  discovery,  she  ran  up  to  the  barn 
where  she  saw  Sam.  "  I  wish  you  would  bring 
a  ladder,  Sam,"  she  said.  "  I  want  to  see  if  there 
is  a  hole  in  that  little  tree.  I  believe  it  is  where 
Eb  hides  his  treasures." 

"  You  don't  say  so,"  said  Sam.  "  What  makes 
you  think  that  ?  " 

"  I  saw  his  tracks  on  the  way  down.  First  he 
would  walk  a  little  and  then  he  would  fly,  for 
there  were  spaces  between  the  tracks.  "When  I 
got  down  there  I  saw  him  sitting  on  the  tree,  and 
I  believe  he  had  something  in  his  beak,  though  I 


2o8  Playmate  Polly 

couldn't  see  exactly.  All  of  a  sudden  he  wasn't 
there,  but  in  a  minute  I  saw  his  head  pop  up  from 
the  top  of  the  tree."  Not  for  the  world  would 
she  have  divulged  to  Sam  that  Playmate  Polly 
was  really  a  person.  He  would  never  understand 
how  such  a  thing  could  be. 

"  I  shouldn't  wonder  if  you  was  right,"  said 
Sam.  "I  can't  go  down  just  this  minute,  but 
after  a  while  I  will  go  and  look." 

"  I  wish  you  could  go  now,"  said  Jessie,  "  for 
I  have  got  to  go  to  school." 

"  Wish  I  could,"  Sam  answered,  "  but  I  will  go 
before  you  get  back.  I  reckon  if  there  is  any' 
thing  there  it  will  stay.  He  ain't  likely  to  move 
it."  Jessie  was  obliged  to  be  satisfied  with  this, 
and  knowing  it  was  high  time  she  was  off  to  her 
lessons,  she  went  up  to  the  house  for  her  books, 
stopping  to  tell  her  mother  of  what  she  suspected 
Eb.  But  there  was  not  much  time  to  discuss  it 
then,  for  it  was  getting  late  and  she  must  hurry 
away. 

She  found  Adele  in  a  high  state  of  excitement 
over  the  arrival  of  the  big  dog  her  father  had 
promised  her.  He  was  a  beautiful  collie,  and 
already  had  attached  himself  to  his  little  mistress, 


What  Was  Found  Out  209 

It  is  safe  to  say  that  lessons  did  not  receive  the 
attention  they  should  that  morning.  Moreover 
even  Eb's  tricks  were  lost  sight  of  in  the  presence 
of  the  new  pet.  So  Adele  was  not  told  of  what 
Jessie  had  seen  that  morning. 

Indeed  it  was  not  till  after  dinner  that  Jessie 
remembered  that  Sam  was  going  to  investigate 
the  top  of  Playmate  Polly's  snow-wreathed  head ; 
and  she  hunted  him  up  to  find  out  what  he  had 
discovered.  He  was  not  at  the  barn  where  she 
first  looked  for  him,  but  as  she  turned  from  there 
she  heard  a  chop-chopping  from  the  direction  of 
the  brook.  What  was  Sam  doing  ?  She  hurried 
toward  the  spot,  and  saw  him  with  axe  uplifted. 
She  uttered  one  cry  of  dismay  and  the  next  min- 
ute Polly  toppled  over  and  lay  prostrate  on  the 
ground.  She  ran  toward  the  fallen  figure  of  her 
late  companion.  "  Oh,  poor  Polly,"  she  whis- 
pered under  her  breath,  her  eyes  full  of  tears. 

When  she  reached  the  place  where  Playmate 
Polly  had  stood  Sam  was  bending  over  a  hollow 
stump.  He  looked  up  with  a  laugh.  "  You  was 
right,"  he  said.  "  Here's  that  little  black  thief's 
treasure."  He  put  his  hand  into  the  stump  and 
drew  forth  the  three  spoons,  a  brass  thimble,  some 


210  Playmate  Polly 

shining  bits  of  glass,  several  bright  buttons,  and, 
last  of  all,  Adele's  lost  Peter  Pan.  "Well,  I 
never !  "  exclaimed  Sara. 

Jessie  drew  a  long  sigh.  "  Oh,  Sam,"  she  said 
tremulously,  "  why  did  you  have  to  cut  it  down  ?  " 

"  It  wasn't  no  good,"  said  Sam.  "  Hollow  all 
through.  Your  father  said  it  had  best  come 
down,  and  then  we  could  see  what  that  rascal 
had  hid  there." 

"  But  I  liked  her,"  said  Jessie  sadly,  feeling 
that  she  had  been  the  cause  of  Playmate  Polly's 
downfall. 

Sam  looked  at  her  curiously.  "First  time  I 
ever  heard  a  tree  called  her"  he  said. 

Jessie  looked  at  the  chips  scattered  around,  at 
Polly's  head  from  which  her  wreath  had  fallen. 
"  Oh,  dear  !  oh,  dear  ! "  she  sighed. 

"What's  the  matter?"  asked  Sam.  "Ain't 
you  glad  to  get  your  doll  baby  back  ?  " 

"  It  isn't  mine ;  it's  Adele's,"  said  Jessie. 
*'  Yes,  I  am  very  glad  to  get  that.  Oh,  Sam  ! " 
she  cried  in  alarm  as  she  saw  him  with  axe  again 
uplifted,  "  you're  not  going  to  chop  her  to  pieces !  " 

Sam  lowered  the  axe.  "I  thought  I  might  as 
well,"  he  said.  "Make  a  little  fire-wood." 


What  Was  Found  Out  211 

"  Please  don't !     Please  don't  I "  she  cried. 

"Well,  you're  a  funny  one  all  right,"  said  Sam 
shouldering  his  axe.  "  Settle  it  with  your  father ; 
'tain't  no  odds  to  me." 

Jessie  stood  for  a  moment  looking  at  the  pros- 
trate Polly  and  then  she  turned  and  walked 
slowly  to  the  house,  carrying  with  her  the  three 
spoons  and  the  little  scarlet-coated  Peter  Pan. 
She  went  into  the  sitting-room  and  laid  the 
things  on  the  table.  "  Mother,"  she  said  sol- 
emnly, "  Playmate  Polly  is  dead." 

Mrs,  Loomis  looked  up  from  her  sewing. 
"  What  on  earth  do  you  mean,  daughter  ?  "  she 
said. 

Jessie  picked  up  the  things  she  had  laid  on  the 
table.  "  Sarn  has  felled  her  to  the  earth,"  she 
said,  "  and  he  found  these." 

Mrs.  Loomis  tried  to  hide  a  smile  at  Jessie's 
tragic  manner.  "  What  did  he  find  ?  "  she  asked. 

Jessie  handed  her  the  spoons  and  the  doll. 

"Then  the  crow  did  hide  them,  and  it  was  you 
who  found  him  out." 

"  Yes,  I  did  it,"  returned  Jessie.  "  Poor  Polly  I 
I  did  it." 

"  My  dear  little  girl,"  said  Mrs.  Loomis,  "  you 


212  Playmate  Polly 

mustn't  feel  badly  about  an  old  hollow  tree.  I 
suppose  Sam  had  to  cut  it  down  in  order  to  get 
at  the  things." 

"  Yes,  I  suppose  so,"  returned  Jessie,  "  but  I 
did  like  her  so  much.  Will  she  have  to  be 
chopped  up  for  fire- wood,  mother  ?  Sam  was  go- 
ing to  do  it,  but  I  stopped  him,  and  he  said  I  must 
settle  it  with  father.  Do  you  suppose  he  will 
care  if  she  isn't  ?  " 

"  I  don't  imagine  he  will  care  at  all,  for  a  little 
old  tree  like  that  would  be  small  loss." 

"  Will  you  ask  him  not  to  ?  " 

"  Why,  yes,  if  you  like ;  but  why  not  ask  him 
yourself  ?  " 

"  I  don't  like  to  talk  to  any  one  but  you  about 
Polly,"  said  Jessie  after  a  pause.  "  Even  Adele 
never  could  understand." 

Mrs.  Loomis  kissed  the  rather  woe-be-gone  lit- 
tle face.  "  Then,  my  darling,"  she  said,  "  I  am 
very  sorry  you  have  lost  your  Polly,  and  you 
may  rest  assured  that  she  shall  stay  just  as  she 
lies  as  long  as  you  wish.  I  am  very  glad  to  get 
back  the  spoons,  though  I  am  sorry  they  could 
not  have  been  discovered  in  another  place." 

"  I  am  glad  to  get  back  Adele's  doll,  too.    Here 


What  Was  Found  Out  213 

she  comes  no\v,  mother,  and  she  has  her  lovely 
dog  with  her." 

Adele  came  in  with  a  rush,  her  dog,  which  she 
had  named  Kob,  frisking  after  her.  "Go  out, 
Kob,"  cried  Adele.  "  Aunt  Betty  said  I  could 
bring  him  if  I  promised  he  shouldn't  come  in  the 
house.  His  feet  are  all  wet."  She  closed  the 
door  after  Eob,  shutting  him  out  on  the  porch, 
where  he  lay  down  to  wait  for  her.  "Why, 
where  did  you  find  my  Peter  Pan  ? "  asked 
Adele  whose  quick  eyes  spied  the  doll  first  thing. 

"  Sam  found  it  and  the  spoons  in  a  hollow  tree. 
It  was  Eb  who  took  it  and  the  spoons,  too.  He 
hid  them  with  some  other  things." 

"  I  knew  it  was  Polly,"  said  Adele  with  a 
laugh.  "I  always  said  she  had  them." 

"  Oh,  Adele,  don't  talk  that  way,"  returned 
Jessie  in  a  distressed  voice.  "  Polly  is  dead." 

Adele  looked  at  her  for  a  minute  to  see  if  she 
really  were  in  earnest.  "  What  do  you  mean  ?  " 
she  said. 

"  Sam  had  to  chop  her  down  to  get  at  the  things. 
They  were  down  so  deep  he  couldn't  reach  them." 

"  Oh,"  said  Adele,  "  I  am  sorry,  Jessie,  I  truly 
am,  and  I  wish  I  had  never  said  mean  things 


2 1 4  Playmate  Polly 

about  her.     I  shall  never,  never,  never,  be  so  hor- 

.,        .    „ 
rid  again." 

Playmate  Polly  was  allowed  to  lie  where  she 
had  fallen,  and  in  time  the  green  grass  and  flow- 
ering weeds  grew  up  all  around  her  and  quite  hid 
her  from  view.  And  the  next  year  there  was  no 
thievish  crow  to  hide  away  his  spoils  in  hollow 
trees.  For  with  the  spring  came  visitors  of  his 
own  kind,  among  them  such  a  charming  young 
lady  crow  as  caused  Eb  to  forsake  his  old  friends, 
and  he  flew  away  with  the  flock  to  live  a  wild 
life.  Once  Jessie  passing  along  through  the  or- 
chard heard  something  above  her  head  cry  out : 
"  Hallo  !  "  and  she  believed  the  black  wings  which 
she  saw  among  the  branches  must  belong  to  her 
old  pet,  and  the  next  winter  a  pair  of  crows  came 
often,  when  the  snow  was  on  the  ground,  to  feed 
with  the  chickens.  Minerva  never  drove  them 
away,  for  she  believed  it  was  Eb  and  his  mate 
who  had  returned  to  his  familiar  haunts,  counting 
upon  receiving  hospitality. 

Thus  Jessie  lost  two  of  her  companions,  but  as 
time  went  on  she  and  Adele  became  closer  friends, 
who  were  happy  with  Kob,  Cloudy  and  the  dolls. 
Before  it  was  time  to  open  the  grotto  again, 


What  Was  Found  Out  215 

Adele  had  renamed  her  doll  of  the  scarlet  coat. 
"  I  shall  call  him  Reddy,"  she  said  to  Jessie,  who 
understood  that  on  account  of  Playmate  Polly 
and  the  old  quarrel,  Adele  wanted  to  be  generous. 

So  Peter  Pan  had  it  all  his  own  way,  though 
he  often  went  to  see  Reddy  in  a  fine  cave  that 
Jessie  helped  Adele  make  for  him. 

Early  in  June  Miss  Eloise  left  the  yellow  house 
to  be  married,  and  one  day,  a  couple  of  weeks 
after,  there  was  a  great  stir  and  bustle  at  "  The 
Beeches."  Mrs.  Loomis,  Miss  Betty,  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
Sadtler  were  all  on  hand  to  welcome  home  the 
bride  and  groom.  Jessie  and  Adele  were  on  the 
watch  for  the  carriage  as  it  drove  from  the  sta- 
tion. Adele  was  the  first  to  spy  it  coming  up  the 
road.  '"  There  they  are  !  "  she  cried. 

"  There  they  are,"  echoed  Jessie.  "  Let's  run 
and  get  the  dears." 

The  two  stood  on  the  porch  as  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Davis  alighted.  Adele  was  the  first  to  rush  for- 
ward and  thrust  something  into  Mr.  Davis's  arms. 
"This  is  for  you,"  she  cried. 

"  And  this  is  for  you."  Jessie  turned  to  Mrs. 
Davis  and  deposited  in  her  arms  a  small  black 
kitten. 


216  Playmate  Polly 

Mr.  Davis  accepted  the  roly-poly  puppy  that 
Adele  had  given  him  and  turning  to  his  wife,  he 
said,  "You  know  all  along,  Eloise,  I  have  de- 
clared we  must  have  a  dog." 

"  And  I  said  no  home  could  be  complete  with- 
out a  cat,"  returned  his  wife  laughing.  "  You  are 
two  dear  children  to  supply  our  wants  so  soon," 
she  said  to  the  little  girls. 

"  We  think  it  is  going  to  be  lovely  here,"  said 
Adele  eagerly. 

"  Max  and  Walter  are  coming  here  to  school," 
Jessie  announced.  "Are  you  glad  to  be  our 
neighbors,  Miss  Eloise  ?  " 

"My  dear,  I  am  delighted.  I  didn't  realize 
what  a  charming  old  place  this  really  was. 
What  have  you  all  been  doing  to  it  ? "  She 
looked  around  upon  a  well  ordered  garden,  upon 
a  smoothly  cut  lawn,  upon  a  freshly  painted  porch 
where  boxes  of  flowers  stood,  and  then  she  caught 
sight  of  the  group  within  doors  who  were  stand- 
ing to  welcome  her.  "  You  dear  people,"  she  said 
holding  out  her  hands.  "  How  good  you  are  to 
us,  and  how  the  whole  place  is  changed.  What 
fairy  work  is  this  ?  " 

"You  must  ask  these  little  girls,"  said  Mrs. 


What  Was  Found  Out  217 

Loomis,  smiling  down  at  Jessie  and  Adele. 
"  They  put  it  into  our  heads,  and  said  it  was  a 
shame  for  you  to  come  home  to  a  dingy  old 
house,  to  a  neglected  lawn  and  a  flowerless 
garden,  and  so  we  thought,  too.  Therefore  we 
have  all  taken  turns  in  seeing  that  things  were 
done  as  they  should  be.  And  now  come  in  to 
supper." 

"  Supper  ?  "  Mrs.  Davis  looked  at  her  husband. 
"  And  we  looked  forward  to  an  empty  house  with 
a  still  emptier  larder.  We  said  we  should  have 
to  picnic  for  days  till  we  could  get  the  house  in 
running  order."  Still  holding  the  kitten,  she  put 
her  free  arm  around  both  little  girls,  and  they 
wondered  why  her  eyes  should  be  full  of  tears. 
"  We  shall  never  feel  like  strangers  here,  Fred," 
she  said  to  Mr.  Davis. 

"  Indeed,  I  should  say  not,"  he  replied.  "  This 
is  a  true  home-coming." 

All  summer  long  work  went  on  in  the  big 
white  house  till  fall  found  it  ready  with  class 
rooms,  with  a  new  gymnasium,  with  pretty  sleep- 
ing rooms  for  the  boarding  pupils.  And  every 
room  was  filled,  while  the  day  scholars  were  not 
a  few. 


2i 8  Playmate  Polly 

Jessie  and  Adele  started  off  together.  Max 
and  Walter  had  already  gone  on  ahead.  Adele 
was  unusually  thoughtful  on  the  way.  "What 
are  you  thinking  of  ?  "  Jessie  asked  her.  "  You 
are  so  quiet." 

"I  was  thinking  about  a  lot  of  things,"  was 
the  reply.  "I  was  thinking  suppose  papa  had 
not  found  the  yellow  house  for  us  to  live  in, 
then  I  should  never  have  known  you,  Miss  Eloise 
would  never  have  found  'The  Beeches,'  and  I 
might  have  been  far  away  somewhere,  just  as 
lonely  as  I  was  before." 

"  But  you  did  come  to  the  yellow  house,  you 
see,"  said  Jessie,  "  and  now  we  are  friends  and 
are  always  going  to  the  same  school." 

"And  after  we  grow  up  we  shall  still  be 
friends.  Say  we  shall,  Jessie." 

"  Of  course,"  returned  Jessie. 

Max  ahead  of  them  called  over  his  shoulder, 
"  You  two  had  better  hurry  up.  We  don't  want 
to  be  late  the  first  day." 

The  two  girls  increased  their  lagging  pace. 
"  We're  coming,"  Jessie  called. 


Bullocks 

LOG  Angeles 


A     000  071  322     2 


